Yeast Involved In the Degradation of Organic Matter as a Potential Biofuels Source

The efficient degradation of organic matter into useful biofuels is currently seen as the best alternative to the use of fossil fuels. Anaerobic yeast such as strains of Saccaromyces cerevisiae and the xylose utilizing yeast Pichia stipitis can degrade biomasses such as lignocellulosic materials. Our goal is to isolate lignocellulosic degrading yeast from samples of decomposing organic matter. The samples used in this research are bark from Spathodea campanulata (African tulip tree) and decomposing organic matter such as grass and leaves found in pond water. The selected samples were cultured in test tubes with two types of media, a rich malt extract broth medium and a complex selective YPD medium with Kanamicin as an antibiotic to encourage the growth of only yeast in that medium. After 48 hours of incubation samples were cultured on petri dishes with the same media and incubated until growth could be seen. Preliminary results have shown growth of microorganisms in both media. Approximately 20 microorganisms had been isolated and are in the process of identification and test for lignocellulosic degradation. This research will provide some view of the importance of microorganisms in the process of developing biofuels.