A novel Trichoderma harzianum strain from the Amazon Forest with high cellulolytic capacity

Abstract This work evaluated the production of cellulases and accessory enzymes by nine Trichoderma strains from the Brazilian Amazon Forest in comparison to the reference strain Trichoderma reesei RUT C-30. A selected T. harzianum strain showed total cellulase activity of 1.63 FPU/mL, which was higher than that measured for T. reesei RUT C-30. T. harzianum also produced high β-glucosidase levels, reaching 3.55 BGU/mL. The cellulolytic efficiency of T. harzianum and T. reesei Rut C-30 supernatants supplemented with Aspergillus awamori supernatant as a source of β-glucosidase and accessory enzymes were evaluated under comparative conditions using ball-milled and hydrothermally treated sugarcane bagasse. Both enzyme preparations showed comparable glucose yields of 72% for the low crystalline ball-milled material. However, T. harzianum enzymes were 25% less efficient than those of T. reesei-A. awamori for the hydrolysis of hydrothermally treated bagasse, which presents a higher crystallinity. Nevertheless, the association of a high cellulolytic activity and a high β-glucosidase activity in the same microorganism indicates the industrial potential of this new wild type T. harzianum strain.