Isolation and characterization of glucanase producing bacteria from forest tree litter

The main objective of the project is to isolate bacteria from Forest soil and characterization of bacteria producing Glucanase. The quality of the litter is measured by chemical composition of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and cell wall components, such as lignin, cellulose and hemicelluloses that influence the litter decomposition and nutrient release. The microbes such as fungi and bacteria cannot absorb the cellulose in the litter as cellulose is insoluble and large to absorb, so these organisms produce extracellular enzymes such as ßGlucanase, xylanase to degrade the cellulose and hemicellulose present in the litter. The Gram-negative bacteria has thin peptidoglycan layer and the bacteria will be stained pink colour. Since the Gram-negative bacteria's peptidoglycan layer dissolved by the ethanol and the bacteria absorbed the Safranin.