Oscar Griffin |
SCHOOL: Alcorn State University
MAJOR: Chemistry (Biochemistry Emphasis) MENTOR: Dr. Alfred T. Mikell EXPECTED GRADUATION DATE: May 2002 ORGANIZATIONS & HONORS:
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ABSTRACT
Screening for Lignin in Microbial Consortia
| The study of lignin, the second most abundant of all organic compounds
on Earth and the most complex, has significant importance to biologists
and chemists alike. However, to engineers in industries such as paper
and pulp production, the degradation of lignin is far more vital.
Therefore, research is necessary on the biodegradability of lignin within
vascular plants. The objectives of this investigation were to isolate
microbes from environments suspected of harboring organisms with lignin
degrading activity, to characterize the microbe consortia using direct
and indirect methods, and to establish the lignin degrading activity of
the consortia. Using various plants as substrates within inoculated
environments, it was established that succession occurs within these environments
and that the results of direct and indirect methods do not necessarily
have to coincide.
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