Production and Optimization of alkaline cellulase from Bacillus subtilis in Submerged Fermentation

Abundant amount of agricultural ,industrial and municipal cellulosic wastes have been accumulating or used inefficiently due to the high cost of their utilization processes.Cellulose ,a polymer of glucose residues connected by ß-1,4 linkages, being the primary structural material of the plant cell wall, is the most enoromous carbohydrate in the nature.Therefore ,considerable economic interest has been aroused to develop processes for effective treatment and utilization of cellulosic wastes. Cellulase is the enzyme that catalyse the hydrolysis of cellulose into sugar which can be used for food, fuel and value added products. On the other hand , Cellulase are industrially important enzymes with a current annual market value of about 190 million US $.These enzymes have found many industrial applications. Primary among the applications that have been developed for the use of cellulolytic enzymes are those involving textiles, detergent, food, animal feed, bio-fuel, paper and pulp, pharmaceutical and waste management .Cellulases are either intracellular or extracellular. Although a large number of microorganisms can degrade cellulose, only a few produce significant quantities of free enzyme capable of completely hydrolyzing crystalline cellulose. Keeping in view , the demand for new enzymes some microorganisms capable of cellulase production are being isolated and studied.