Isolation, Identification, and Characterization of a Cellulolytic Bacillus amyloliquefaciens Strain SS35 from Rhinoceros Dung

Cellulose hydrolyzing bacteria were isolated from rhinoceros dung and tested for clear zone formation around the colonies on the agar plates containing the medium amended with carboxymethylcellulose as a sole carbon source. Isolates were further screened on the basis of carboxymethylcellulase production in liquid medium. Out of 36 isolates, isolate no. 35 exhibited maximum enzyme activity of 0.079 U/mL and was selected for further identification by using conventional biochemical tests and phylogenetic analyses. This was a Gram-positive, spore forming bacterium with rod-shaped cells. The isolate was identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens SS35 based on nucleotide homology and phylogenetic analysis using 16S rDNA and gyrase A gene sequences.