Screening of endophytic fungi for biofuel feedstock production using palm oil mill effluent as a carbon source
- Author:
Moritz Muller
;
Edwin Sia Sien Aun
;
Joanne Yeo Suan Hui
;
Julie Wong Wei Ming
;
Jenny Choo Cheng Yi
;
Changi Wong
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
biofuel feedstock, endophytic fungi, oleaginous fungi, Nypa fruticans, palm oil mill effluent
- From:Malaysian Journal of Microbiology
2017;13(3):203-209
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Aims: Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is a major agricultural waste product of Malaysia. The aim of this study was to
identify endophytic fungi capable of producing biofuel feedstock utilizing POME.
Methodology and results: Endophytes were isolated from the Nipah palm tree, Nypa fruticans, and exposed to
different POME concentrations (25%, 50% and 75%), with and without the addition of nutrients. The utilization of glucose
was measured using the Dinitrosalicylic Acid assay whereas the lipid content in the fungal cells was extracted using the
Bligh and Dyer method with slight modifications. Three endophytic fungi that displayed the highest growth on POME
were identified using ITS 1 and 4 primers and found to be related to Pestalotiopsis sp., Lasiodiplodia theobromae and
Rhizoctonia bataticola. Nutrient addition caused an average increase of 8 times in biomass, indicating nitrogen
requirement for cell proliferation. The highest POME concentration (75%) resulted in lower biomass yield. Furthermore,
all fungal samples in high POME concentration and nutrient conditions showed a decrease in lipids accumulated per
milligram of biomass whereby lipid synthesis was enhanced under nitrogen limitation (25% without nutrients).
Conclusion, significance and impact of study: In conclusion, all fungal samples can be classified as oleaginous
microorganisms with Pestalotipsis sp. being the most efficient (up to 70% of its biomass). This is to our knowledge the
first study that shows the potential use of Pestalotiopsis sp., L. theobromae and R. bataticola for the utilisation of POME
as biofuel feedstock and could in the future potentially provide an alternative approach to the treatment of POME with
value-added effect.
