BIODIVERSITY OF CELLULOLYTIC BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM FERMETODEGE FOR RUMINANTS

Abstract

ARTICLE HIGLIGHTS- Fermetodege as a source of cellulolytic bacteria that degrade cellulosic materials.- Enhances ruminant feed by improving palatability and digestibility.- Utilizes water hyacinth, reducing invasive plant spread and supporting ecosystems.- Bioprospecting reveals new bacteria for effective fermentation starter development.ABSTRACTFermetodege is a name of fermented ruminant feed produced from free heavy metals water hyacinth, rice bran, and corn cobs. Its quality, as well as the fermentation process, are affected by numerous factors, such as the diversity, evenness, and dominance of indigenous cellulolytic bacterial species. A proper understanding of these influential factors is needed to improve the quality of the fermented feed. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the diversity, evenness, and dominance of cellulolytic bacteria isolated from fermetodege. The cellulolytic activity of the isolates was tested by observing their growth on the carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) media. Isolates with cellulolytic activity formed a clear zone after the colonies were soaked with 0.1% Congo red and rinsed with 1 M NaCl. The Shannon-Weiner's diversity and evenness indexes, as well as Simpson's species dominance, were then calculated. The result showed that the Shannon-Weiner’s diversity index ranged from 0.6849 to 1.8173, and it was categorized as medium. The evenness index was between 0.7778 and 0.9983, which indicates a stable distribution of species. Meanwhile, the Simpson’s species dominance ranged from 0.1835 to 0.5082, which implies that none of the species was dominant. These results show that fermetodege is potentially a source of bacterial isolates and can be used as a fermentation consortium starter.