Gut Microorganisms in Sugarcane Pests : Identification of lignocellulose-degrading and xylose-bioconverting isolates

The pursuit for sustainable economies has increased the interest in development of microbial-based platforms for new processes, both for biofuel production and for the synthesis of compounds, which demands high energetic capacity and chemical processing in its production. The isolation of microorganisms capable of degradation of lignocellulosic materials, resistant to different inhibitors and highly efficient in the biosynthesis of specific molecules is necessary to achieve such purposes. In this work, cultivable microorganisms isolated from the larval gut of sugarcane pests were characterized according to their extracellular enzymatic activity in carbon sources and molecularly identified. The obtained results have demonstrated the gut of sugarcane pests as source of microorganisms capable of enzymatic degradation of cellulose and xylan and ability to produce xylitol, whose potential for use in the industrial biotechnology has yet to be revealed.