Characteristics of a high efficient complex microbial community for degradation of cellulose and lindane

A microbial community with lignocellulose and lindane degradation ability was constructed and domesticated from overheated composting pile. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) showed that the DGGE band patterns of the community were different in different cultivation period. The community could degrade different cellulose materials with high efficiency, especially had high degrading activity for the materials with higher native cellulose such as filter paper and absorbent cotton. The more cellulose was decomposed, the more lindane was degraded. The optimum temperature for the community was in the range of 50 to 60°C. It could keep a high capability for degrading cellulose in a wide range of pH, especially under the condition of neutrality and hemi-alkli. Lindane could be degraded effectively under the condition of pH 7~9, which also was the optimum condition for cellulose degradation. But under the condition of pH 10, the degradation ratio of lindane was reached to 49.62, whereas cellulose was less degraded.