Lignin peroxidase producing microorganisms were isolated from the gut of
Macrotermes nigeriense (Soldier and worker termite). The microorganisms isolated were
Staphylococcus aureus
,
Staphylococcus epidermis
,
Bacillus subtilis
,
Micrococcus luteus
,
Epidermophyton flocussum
,
Microsporum distortum
,
Trichophyton megininii
,
Trichophyton mentagrophytes
and
Aspergillus niger
. When the isolates were incubated for 24 hours in the presence of 0.5 w/v pyrogallol to test for the expression of peroxidase activities,
B. subtilis produced the highest activity among the bacterial isolates, with optimum temperature of 35 °C, and optimum pH of 6.5. Similar screen among the fungal isolates found
M. distortum to express the most activities, with optimum temperature of 40 °C, and optimum pH of 5.0, after 72 hours incubation. The results from this study suggest that
B. subtilis and
M. distortum can be a cheap source of lignin peroxidase for large scale commercial production, biotechnological and industrial applications.
