Preliminary studies of cellulase production by Acinetobacter anitratus and Branhamella sp.

Two Bacteria species, Acinetobacter anitratus and Branhamella sp., were isolated from the haemolymph of the giant African snail, Archachatina marginata. The endocellulase activity of the culture broth was determined during bacterial growth by measuring the release of reducing sugar from carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). The peak of enzyme production occurred at the late logarithm phase for each bacterial species. The kinetics of CMC and celloboise hydrolysis was found to be the Michaelis-Menten type. The KM values of CMC substrate were found to be 4.97 and 7.90 mg/ml for A. anitratus and Branhamella sp., respectively. The KM values for cellobiose as substrate were 0.32 and 2.50 mM for A. anitratus and Branhamella sp., respectively. A multiplicity of cellulase complexes in the haemolymph of A. marginata is indicated.