The lignocellulose degrading microbial consortium was bred from a hightemperature
sugarcane bagasse compost as described by Haruta et al. [6]. After7 day of
composting, a 1 g compost sample was taken from the compost at the thermophilic
phase (>50 ◦C) and inoculated into a 50ml screw-cap disposable tube containing
30 ml of PCS medium (0.1% yeast extract, 0.5% peptone, 0.5% CaCO3, 0.5% NaCl, 1%
bagasse, pH 8.0) with a filter paper strip (0.3 g) as an indicator for cellulase activity.
The mixture was incubated at 50 ◦C under static aerobic conditions. When the filter
paper disintegrated (approx. 7 d), 1ml of the culture was then transferred into fresh
medium. The procedure was then repeated until a structurally stable cellulolytic
microbial community was obtained as indicated by DGGE analysis. The microbial
consortium was maintained by continual subcultivation as described above, or in
PCS medium containing 20% glycerol with no cellulosic substrate at −80 ◦C for
long-term storage. The structurally stable consortium was used for all subsequent
experimental studies.