Isolation of a Cotton Wool Degrading Strain of Cellulomonas: Mutants With Altered Ability to Degrade Cotton Wool

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Abstract
A Cellulomonas strain (CS1-1) which could readily degrade cotton wool was isolated from soil. Production of cell-bound and extracellular carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase), .beta.-glucosidase and avicelase during growth on different substrates was determined. Methods for the isolation of mutants were assessed and mutants were isolated which were altered in their ability to degrade cotton wool when compared to CS1-1. Studies on 1 mutant (CS1-7) able to degrade cotton wool more rapidly than the parent revealed large differences in the levels of cell-bound and extracellular CMCase when compared to CS1-1.