Effect of environmental factors on cellulase production by Lyscinibacillus sphaericus from the gut of Earthworm, Eisenia foetida

Earthworms are eco-friendly and play a variety of roles in agro ecosystem. The gut of earthworm is the factory to manufacture the beneficial microbial densities and their products. The excreted nutrients enrich thousand times more than the surrounding soil. Experiments have proven that crops grown in earthworm inhabitant soils had increased the yields from 25% to over 300% than in earthworm free soils. Researchers had reported that bacteria living in the gut of worms would breakdown many hazardous chemicals such as hexachloro cyclohexane (HCH) into detoxified forms maintaining the biological buffering of the soil. Most of the agricultural lands are recorded for lower abundance of earthworms (or) leading to abandon the croplands due to the lack of favorable conditions influencing the growth of plants. Investigation of the interaction of bacteria with soil invertebrates is one of the ways to study the development in biogeocenoses. The earthworm gut is favorable for the development of bacteria due to neutral pH, optimal humidity and temperature.