Physiological, Biochemical and Morphological Characteristics of Mesquite Wood-digesting Bacteria

Abstract

Ten species of bacteria, belonging to the genera Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Flavobacterium and Brevibacterium, were isolated from soil or decaying mesquite [Prosopis] wood by enrichment culture techniques using mesquite wood as the C and energy source. Eight of these species hydrolyzed carboxymethylcellulose but none consistently hydrolyzed filter paper strips in peptone/NaCl broth. In general, they were proteolytic, non-fermentative in Hugh and Leifson''s medium, utilized Kreb''s cycle intermediates as C sources and possessed carboxymethylcellulase. Mesquite wood may be a suitable substrate for production of single cell bacterial protein supplements.