Potentialities of the microbial consortium Curvularia kusanoi -Trichoderma pleuroticola as a biological pretreatment for the degradation of fibrous sources

Objective. To evaluate the potentiality of the microbial consortium Curvularia kusanoi L7- Trichoderma pleuroticola as biological pretreatment of high fiber sources destined for animal production. Materials and methods. The Strains used where Curvularia kusanoi L7 and Trichoderma pleuroticola. The degradative potential was evaluated through the production kinetics of cellulolytic (endo-1,4-β- glucanase and exo-1,4-β-glucanase) and ligninolytics enzymes (laccase and peroxidase) in solid submerged fermentation of bran wheat and sugarcane bagasse. The growth of the co culture in plates was analyzed. The effect of the consortium on the carbon mineralization of raw wheat straw was determined and the degree of fiber degradation was evaluated by infrared spectroscopy (IR). Resulted. Both strains showed high cellulolytic production. Only C. kusanoi L7 showed ligninolytic activity, with a maximum laccase activity of 1400 U/L. No antagonism was found between the strains and the results of carbon mineralization and evaluation of their final products by IR indicate the effectiveness of the consortium to degrade the cell wall more efficiently than each of the strains individually. Conclusions. It is concluded that the microbial consortium C. kusanoi L7-T. pleuroticola has great potential for structural modification of fibrous sources destined for animal feeding.