Its synthesis in such organisms is induced by the products of cellulose breakdown, including cellobiose, glucose and their metabolites (Stewart and Leatherwood, 1976).
There is currently great interest in the use of extracellular enzymes as biological indicators of soil quality, because they are relatively simple to determine, have microbial ecological significance, are sensitive to environmental stress and respond rapidly to changes in land management (Dick, 1997; Yakovchenko et al., 1996). -Glucosidase activity may be a particularly useful enzyme for soil quality monitoring because of its central role in soil organic matter cycling, which is generally regarded as an important component of soil quality.