Effects of carbon and nitrogen supplementation on lignin and cellulose decomposition by a Streptomyces

Effects of nitrogen source and concentration and organic carbon cosubstrates on lignin and cellulose degradation by Streptomyces badius strain 252 were examined using 14C-labeled substrates prepared from Pseudotsuga menziesii twigs. As compared with white-rot fungi, which do not degrade lignin in the absence of a readily metabolizable carbon cosubstrate, degradation of a milled-wood lignin occurred in a minimal medium, although degradation by S. badius was greatly enhanced when organic nitrogen and an organic carbon cosubstrate were added to the medium. Lignin degradation was greatest in the presence of high levels of organic nitrogen. Further enhancement of lignin and cellulose degradation occurred in a medium containing organic nitrogen supplemented with low levels of NO3-. The specific effects of inorganic nitrogen on lignocellulose degradation by S. badius in an otherwise optimal medium included both enhancement and inhibition of lignin or cellulose degradation depending on the source and concentration of inorganic nitrogen used. These effects were distinctly different from those observed with white-rot fungi and were shown to be specific ion effects on polymer degradation and not simply a salt concentration effect on cellular growth.