Bacterial Community Structure and Biochemical Changes Associated With Composting of Lignocellulosic Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch
Mohd Huzairi Mohd Zainudin,
Mohd Ali Hassan,
Umi Kalsom Md Shah,
Norhani Abdullah,
Mitsunori Tokura,
Hisashi Yasueda,
Yoshihito Shirai,
Kenji Sakai,
Azhari Samsu Baharuddin
Affiliations
Mohd Huzairi Mohd Zainudin
Department of Bioprocess Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia
Mohd Ali Hassan
University Putra Malaysia
Umi Kalsom Md Shah
Department of Bioprocess Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia
Norhani Abdullah
Department of Biochemistry Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43300 UPM Serdang Selangor, Malaysia
Mitsunori Tokura
Biological Functions Research Group, Frontier Research Labs., Institute for Innovation, Ajinomoto Co. Inc., 1-1 Suzuki-cho, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki, Japan
Hisashi Yasueda
Biological Functions Research Group, Frontier Research Labs., Institute for Innovation, Ajinomoto Co. Inc., 1-1 Suzuki-cho, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki, Japan
Yoshihito Shirai
Department of Biological Functions and Engineering, Graduate School of Life Science and System Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, 2-4 Hibikino, Wakamatsu, Fukuoka 808-0196 Japan
Kenji Sakai
Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Bioresources and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University,6-10-1, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8581, Japan
Azhari Samsu Baharuddin
Department of Process and Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43300 UPM Serdang Selangor, Malaysia
Bacterial community structure and biochemical changes during the composting of lignocellulosic oil palm empty bunch (EFB) and palm oil mill effluent (POME) anaerobic sludge were studied by examining the succession of the bacterial community and its association with changes in lignocellulosic components by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and the 16S rRNA gene clone library. During composting, a major reduction in cellulose after 10 days from 50% to 19% and the carbon content from 44% to 27% towards the end of the 40-day composting period were observed. The C/N ratio also decreased. A drastic change in the bacterial community structure and diversity throughout the composting process was clearly observed using PCR-DGGE banding patterns. The bacterial community drastically shifted between the thermophilic and maturing stages. 16s rRNA clones belonging to the genera Bacillus, Exiguobacterium, Desemzia, and Planococcus were the dominant groups throughout composting. The species closely related to Solibacillus silvestris were found to be major contributors to changes in the lignocellulosic component. Clones identified as Thermobacillus xylanilyticus, Brachybacterium faecium, Cellulosimicrobium cellulans, Cellulomonas sp., and Thermobifida fusca, which are known to be lignocellulosic-degrading bacteria, were also detected and are believed to support the lignocellulose degradation.
