title: Isolation of a novel thermophilic fungus Chaetomium sp. nov. MS-017 and description of its palm-oil mill fiber-decomposing properties.
abstract: Palm-oil mill fiber (POMF) is a fibrous, natural hard material discharged in enormous amounts from palm-oil mills in tropical plantations; therefore, research to find microorganisms that decompose POMF was conducted. As the result of screening, a new thermophilic fungus, Chaetomium sp. nov. MS-017, exhibiting rapid growth on POMF was isolated from rotted wood. Based on partial characterization of the decomposition of POMF, it was shown that MS-017 preferentially assimilates polysaccharides, especially hemicelluloses such as xylan. A preliminary composting study indicated that MS-017 produced 855 g of decomposed product from 1,000 g of intact POMF in 12 days under optimized solid-culture conditions. The decomposition rate of POMF was 23% (w/w), and the cell yield calculated from consumed POMF was as high as 36% (w/w). These results indicate that MS-017 has a very high potential to decompose POMF and that it is suitable for economical production of compost to recycle by-product biomass from oil-palm plantations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Engineering, Yamanashi University, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan.
authors.lastname: Suyanto
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohtsuki
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yazaki
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ui
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mimura
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D018533:Biomass; D002597:Chaetomium / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism*; D003470:Culture Media; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007220:Industrial Waste; D008903:Minerals / Q000378:metabolism; D009566:Nitrates / Q000378:metabolism; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D000073878:Palm Oil; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000378:metabolism*; D012037:Refuse Disposal
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D007220:Industrial Waste; D008903:Minerals; D009566:Nitrates; D010938:Plant Oils; D000073878:Palm Oil; D009584:Nitrogen; C006568:ammonium nitrate