TITLE:
Pool of Biological Resources for Potential Applications in Solid State Fermentation Obtained from a Forest Plantation of Pinus pseudostrobus Lindl, Mexico
AUTHORS:
E. Rodríguez-Bustamante, E. Rodríguez-Flores, F. Rojas-García, A. S. Callejas-Iberri, L. M. Gallardo-Roldán, S. Gómez-Manzo, J. Marcial-Quino, M. L. Macías-Rubalcava, F. Lazcano-Pérez, R. Arreguín-Espinosa
KEYWORDS:
Forest Plantation, Solid State Fermentation, Lignocellulosic Material, Pine Needles, Plant Litter Decomposition, Soil Fungi
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Microbiology,
Vol.6 No.14,
December
19,
2016
ABSTRACT: A forest plantation, product of the reforestation of pine trees, represented a pool of biological resources for the implementation of a solid state fermentation process. The trees were identified as Pinus pseudostrobus Lindl from which lignocellulosic material in the form of pine needles was collected. Soil fungi, responsible for plant litter decomposition, were cultured at laboratory conditions and tested for their ability to grow on cellulose and hemicellulose as the sole carbon sources. A fungal strain, belonging to the genus Penicillium, was selected for growing it on pine needles as the substrate in a solid state culture. After following the culture for six days, the newly isolated strain exhibited a much higher capacity for spore production and holocellulose degradation, compared to a purchased strain of Penicillium chrysogenum and two control conditions. This work marks the beginning of future studies focused on commercial applications and represents the first report of a biotechnological process based on pine needles and their degradation by an ascomycetes species belonging to the genus Penicillium.