Characterization of the Cellulolytic Activity of a Bacillus Isolate LORI M. ROBSON AND GLENN H. CHAMBLISS* Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 Received 4 November 1983/Accepted 23 February 1984
A group I Bacillus strain, DLG, was isolated and characterized as being most closely related to Bacillus subtilis. When grown on any of a variety of sugars, the culture supernatant of this isolate was found to possess cellulolytic activity, as demonstrated by degradation of trinitrophenyl-carboxymethyl cellulose. Growth in medium containing cellobiose or glucose resulted in the greatest production of cellulolytic activity. The cellulolytic activity was not produced until the stationary phase of growth, and the addition of glucose or cellobiose to a culture in this phase had no apparent effect on enzyme production. Fractionation of the culture supernatant showed that the molecular weight of the enzymatic activity was
