Waste cellulosic materials (corncob, sawdust and
sugarcane pulp) and crystalline cellulose induced
cellulase production in wild strains of Aspergillus niger,
Penicillium chrysogenum and Trichoderma harzianum
isolated from a wood-waste dump in Lagos, Nigeria.
Cellulose-supplemented media gave the maximum
cellulase activity of 0.54, 0.67 and 0.39 units mg Protein-1
for A. niger, P. chrysogenum and T. harzianum
respectively. The maximum enzyme activity for A. niger
was obtained at 36 h of cultivation, while P. chrysogenum
and T. harzianum gave their maximum enzyme activities
at 12 and 60 h respectively. For the cellulosic wastes,
highest enzyme activity was obtained with sawdust where
A. niger, P. chrysogenum and T. harzianum gave the
maximum enzyme activity of 0.30, 0.24 and 0.20 units
mg Protein-1 respectively after 144 h of cultivation. A.
niger recorded the highest enzyme activity with any of the
three cellulosic materials followed by P. chrysogenum. It
thus appears that the use of sawdust presents the best
option for low-cost commercial production of cellulase
using A. niger and P. chrysogenum as discussed herewith
