Bacterial consortium optimization for improved biological degradation of agricultural waste

The present study describes the formulation of an ideal bacterial consortia aimed at effective solid waste biodegradation. The consortium provided a sustainable bioremediation approach by demonstrating noticeably higher degradation rates via specific enrichment and synergistic interactions. Conventional biochemical assays and morphological investigations were used to provide preliminary microbial identification. Using customized selective culture conditions, the production of particular extracellular enzymes, such as the enzyme amylase, cellulase, protease, and xylanase, was measured in order to evaluate the enzymatic activity profiles quantitatively. A thorough assessment of the bacterial isolates' functional capacities was made possible by the subsequent characterization of enzymatic activity using spectrophotometric techniques to calculate enzyme titers. By accurately identifying and characterizing bacterial species at the molecular level using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, an exact taxonomic designation utilizing conserved and variable sections of the ribosomal RNA gene was made possible. The selection of fifty-eight bacterial strains for compatibility testing included 19 strains grown on cellulose agar medium, 19 strains on Luria Bertani medium, and 20 strains of King's medium B bacteria. Enzymatic activities viz: amylase, cellulase, protease and xylanase, were used to describe these strains. Six bacterial consortia were systematically assembled and evaluated to assess their compatibility and interaction dynamics. The goal of this stringent selection and consortium building was to clarify functional synergism and interspecies compatibility in various microbial communities. The effectiveness of six microbial consortia in the in vitro biological degradation of waste from agriculture was assessed. Consortia BC1, BC2, BC3, and BC4 showed the highest levels of degrading efficiency, according to the results. The functional roles of microorganisms in ecosystems are better understood, which also emphasizes how crucial it is to investigate microbial diversity in order to find enzymes with practical uses. According to this study, bacterial consortia can be used as a biotechnological instrument and as an environmentally friendly remediation technique to break down and remove solid organic matter from environmental matrices. Additionally, the compost produced by microbial degradation processes has the potential to be used as a soil amendment, improving crop production potential and soil fertility within the soil ecosystem.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-026-04742-x.