Isolation and Characterization of Lignin–Degrading White Rot Fungi from Eucalyptus Pulp Liquid Waste and Weathered Eucalyptus Wood (Eucalyptus sp)

Abstract

Lignin is an organic polymer compound that is difficult to degrade in the environment because of its very  complex structure consisting of an aromatic ring group and three carbons in the side chain. This exploratory  study aims to determine whether white rot fungi isolated from wastewater from eucalypt pulp and weathered  wood are lignolytic and the ability of the isolates to degrade tannins as an approach in the lignin degradation  process. The experimental design is divided into two stages, namely: 1) Isolation of fungi that have the ability  to degrade tannins quantitatively and qualitatively as well as characterization of fungi morphologically  (macroscopic and microscopic). 2) Testing the ability of superior white rot fungus isolates in degrading  tannins at concentrations of 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2% of tannins. The brown zone formed in white rot fungal  isolates was measured the zone diameter and intensity of the brown color. The results of this study indicate  that of the 29 isolates obtained, there were five superior isolates capable of degrading tannins, namely isolates  LD06, LD07, BE01.3, BE01.4 and BE02.2. BE01.3 was isolated at 2% tannin concentration, the second largest  diameter of the brown zone after LD06 isolate and the highest brown color intensity level three with a slightly  dark brown color intensity, namely slightly blackish brown.