Screening of fungi isolated from environmental samples for xylanase and cellulase production

The aim of this work is to select filamentous fungal strains isolated from saw dust, soil, and decaying wood with the potential to produce xylanase and cellulase enzymes. A total of 110 fungi were isolated. Fifty-seven (57) of these fungi were isolated from soil samples, 32 from sawdust, and 19 from decaying wood. Trichoderma and Aspergillus had the highest relative occurrence of 42.6% and 40.8%, respectively. Trichoderma viride Fd18 showed the highest specific activity of 1.30 U mg(-1) protein for xylanase, while the highest cellulase activity of 1.23 U mg(-1) was shown by Trichoderma sp. F4. The isolated fungi demonstrated potential for synthesizing the hydrolytic enzymes.