ABSTRACT
Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) meal, a by-product of palm oil, is rich in fiber and contains lignocelluloses, which inhibits the absorption of the nutrients has been widely used for animal feed. The improvement of the nutrient absorption is required treating with cellulase enzyme. This study was aimed to isolate, screen and characterize the cellulase producing bacteria. Ten strains of cellulolytic bacteria were isolated from 7 oil palm meal samples collected in Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan and Pattani provinces, Thailand. They exhibited the ability to degrade carboxymethyl-cellulose (CMC) based on the decolorization of CMC-basal agar medium using Congo red as a color indicator. They showed the cellulase hydrolysis capacity ranged from 1.56 to 4.14. All isolates were Gram positive rod-shaped bacteria and belonged to Bacillus (8 isolates), Paenibacillus (1 isolate) and Lysinibacillus (1 isolate) based on the phenotypic characteristics and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Their cellulase activity ranged from 0.039±0.002 to 0.233±0.005 IU/ml when they were cultivated in broth.