ISOLATION AND PARTIAL PROPERTIES OF CELLULOSE-DECOMPOSING STRAIN OF CYTOPHAGA SP LX-7 FROM SOIL

A new facultatively anaerobic, Gram-negative bacterium, Cytophaga sp. LX-7, degrading crystalline cellulose completely, was isolated from so il by dilution plating on cellodextrin agarose plates. This strain cou ld excrete extracellularly all three types of cellulase and cellulosic substrates were the strongest inducer of endocellulase with CMC-lique fying activity production. No reducing sugar was found in cultures of cellulose during incubation. An enzyme which degrades crystalline cell ulose was detected in cultures of cellulose by measuring the formation of soluble carbohydrate but was not detected by determining the reduc ing sugar released. This strain also synthesized cell-bound cellobiose oxidizing enzyme which was previously noted only in fungi. Both cellu lose and soluble sugars could promote the production of cellobiose oxi dizing enzyme.