FUNCTIONAL ENZYMATIC AND BIO-DECOMPOSER

Decomposition is the progressive breakdown of organic materials,

ultimately into inorganic constituents, and
is mediated mainly by soil microorganisms

The contribution made by decomposers, i.e. those organisms

which utilize dead remains and waste organic materials from
organisms as their main or sole source of energy and carbon
for biosynthesis

The factors controlling decomposition of

organic materials are determined by three
sets of interacting factors – substrate
quality, organisms and environment
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Soil organic matter cycling is closely linked to the decomposer activity, which mineralise organic compounds and make essential
nutrients plant available. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the abundance, composition and/or diversity of
microorganisms in soils matter to ecosystem functioning.

Decomposition is a mostly microbially mediated process, although its actual rate and extend are influenced by environmental
variables, including soil temperature, moisture, oxygen, nitrogen content, the quality and quantity of available carbon substrates
Carbon compounds of higher quality are characterised by a lower C/N-ratio, which makes the substrate more readily available to
decomposer organisms, in particular bacteria, while low quality substrates with high C/N ratio are preferentially used by fungi.
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 Higher carbon substrate quality, i.e., more readily available and easily
decomposable organic matter, has been found to lead to an increase
in microbial biomass size whereas functional diversity decreased
when studying the decomposition of different plant leaf components

 The role of microorganisms in formation and decomposition of soil

organic matter cannot be discussed without reference to the
interactions of microorganisms with the soil micro- and macrofauna.
A diverse range of biota is present in soil, including micro-fauna (e.g.,
nematodes and protozoa), meso-fauna (e.g., Collembola, mites and
acari) and macro-fauna (e.g., earthworms, molluscs and termites).

 Microorganisms are the main agents of biochemical

decomposition and turnover of organic matter but soil fauna
enhance the fragmentation of coarse particulate matter into finer
fractions and influence the distribution of organic matter in soil
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 The microorganisms capable of decomposing cellulose can be

divided into seven general groups: (1) anaerobic bacteria,
(2) aerobic bacteria, (3) thermophilic bacteria, (4) denitrifying
bacteria, (5) actinomyces, (6) fungi, and (7) possibly also
invertebrate animals.

 the nature of the decomposition of cellulose by

microorganisms, enzymes had to be obtained so as to allow
the investigation of the hydrolytic nature of the phenomenon

 The anaerobic decomposition of cellulose results in the

formation of organic acids and gases consisting of carbon
dioxide and methane or hydrogen
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 Cellulose decomposition by aerobic bacteria can be studied

by suspending filter paper in a shallow layer of a medium
containing an appropriate nitrogen source and the necessary
minerals and inoculated with a pure or crude culture of
bacteria, or with soil or manure.
At room temperature, the cellulose will be found to be rapidly

decomposed with the formation of a slime or mucilage which

may be colored yellow or red. Carbon dioxide is formed
abundantly but no other gas, so that no visible "fermentation"
is found to take place; small quantities of acids are formed in
the medium.
 Thermophilic bacteria destroy cellulose very actively.
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 In the decomposition of cellulose by denitrifying bacteria,

the energy liberated is used for the reduction of nitrates
to atmospheric nitrogen; the oxygen thus obtained is
utilized for the oxidation of the cellulose. Carbon dioxide
and water are the chief products formed in the
decomposition of cellulose, while nitrogen gas is a
product of the reduction of nitrates

 The capacity of decomposing cellulose and using

it as a source· of energy is well distributed among
the actinomyces." This can be readily
demonstrated either by the cellulose-plate method
or by adding cellulose, in the form of filter paper,
to a medium containing the necessary inorganic
salts and a source of nitrogen
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 The destruction of hemicellulose in plant tissues is to be

sharply differentiated from that of cellulose. Fungi act
differently upon hemicelluloses of different plants, due
probably to the difference in chemical composition of the
plant tissues rather than to differences in solubility of the
hemicelluloses. It has been shown elsewhere that fungi
possess a strong cellulose-decomposing power, especially
certain Fusaria, Aspergilli, Penicillia, Trichodermae and
various Dematiaceae
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