Isolation of Cellulose-Degrading Endophyte from Capsicum chinense and Determination of its Cellulolytic Potential

Knowledge in the field of bacterial endophytes associated with the plant Capsicum chinense is negligible. So in order to characterize the endophytic population in the targeted plant, different accessions of C. chinense plant were procured from different agro-climatic zones of India. Bacterial endophytes were isolated by using standard protocols. After isolation of the endophytes, a biochemical identification study was performed using the standard key. Secondary metabolites of these bacterial species were studied for their economic importance. One isolate of cellulose-degrading bacteria (CDB) was isolated from the roots of C. chinense. The cellulase activity of the endophyte, containing cellulose Congo Red agar. Finally, enzyme assays for the cellulase (endoglucanase) and filter paper cellulase or FPC assay was studied. The maximum clearing zone for the isolate was 50mm, and the hydrolytic capacity (HC) was found to be 5.96. The endoglucanase activity of 0.95 IU/mL and the filter paper Filter Paper Cellulase (FPCase) activity was found to be 0.25 IU/mL. The importance of the study is attributed to the fact that this is the first-ever study of the enzymatic activity of endophytic bacteria isolated from C. chinense collected from North-East India.