Journal of Technology Innovations in Renewable Energy, 2018, 7, 7-18 7 E-ISSN: 1929-6002/18 © 2018 Lifescience Global Endophytic Fungi from Aegle marmelos Plant: A Potent and Innovative Platform for Enhanced Cellulolytic Enzyme Production Pradeep Kumar Badiya a , Sai Praneeth Thota a , Sandeep Yerram a , Praveen V. Vadlani b,c , Pallavi Vedantam d , Sai Sathish Ramamurthy a,* , Nageswara Rao Golakoti a , Robin Sharma e and B.S. Vijaya Kumar e a Molecular Bioprocessing Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam, A.P-515134, India b Bioprocessing and Renewable Energy Laboratory, Department of Grain Science and Industry, India c Department of Chemical Engineering, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA d Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, 10065, USA e Department of Biosciences, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam Campus, Puttaparthi, Anantapur Dist., Andhra Pradesh, India Abstract: Fungi have a prominent status in fermentation for the production of different bio-products. Endophytic fungi isolated from medicinal plants are particularly formidable in their adaptability to solid state fermentation as an extension of its natural habitat and are also a potent source of broad-spectrum cellulolytic enzymes. We report for the first time the use of endophytic fungus isolated from Aegle marmelos for enhanced cellulolytic enzymes production from groundnut shell (GNS) as substrate. ImageJ software identified Trichoderma harzianum as an endophytic fungus having maximum radial growth rate. A systematic comparison of the endophytic fungus with Aspergillus oryzae, under solid state fermentation (SSF) and submerged fermentation (SmF) conditions was performed and enhanced cellulase production was observed by the endophytic fungus (4.27 FPU/ml) under SSF environment compared to SmF (2.35 FPU/ml). A comprehensive understanding of the systemic breakdown in the structural integrity of the biomass has been achieved using a synergy of enzyme assay protocols, spectral and thermal based techniques. The use of endophytic fungi in SSF systems in our study lays the basis for the production of other industrially important enzymes. The present study opens the door for the synergistic use of endophytic and epiphytic fungi for the production of cellulolytic enzyme. Keywords: Fermentation, Biomass, Fungi, Extraction, Agricultural Wastes. INTRODUCTION Fossil fuels are a non-renewable energy source used to make products such as chemicals, solvents, lastics, synthetic fabrics, and lubricants; the major end use being transportation fuels [1]. Natural gas and battery operated vehicles are alternatives to liquid fuels but not cost effective and the technology is at its early stage [1]. However, biofuels produced from renewable bio-sources such as lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) offer a cleaner, sustainable and affordable alternative [2, 3]. A study reported that ethanol from cellulosic biomasses reduces 85% of greenhouse gases emission over gasoline [4]. An extension to cellulosic ethanol from biomass has been the use of agricultural wastes for bioethanol production [5, 6]. The agro crop residues being the most abundant source of carbon in nature have significantly helped to alleviate global warming and balance the growing global energy demands [6]. *Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Chemistry, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prashanthi Nilayam, 515134, India; Tel: +918790314405; Fax: 08555286919; E-mail: rsaisathish@sssihl.edu.in However, the main limiting factor in bioprocessing is the structural integrity of LCB which contributes to soaring costs of ethanol production [7]. Bioprocessing in this context plays a key role in lowering the cost of ethanol production with the use of enzymatic and fermentation methods [8]. Structural composition of LCB in particular plays a vital role in the choice of pretreatment of LCB [3, 9-11]. We have shown in an earlier investigation that lignin content and its binding pattern is a significant factor in cellulosic ethanol production from mutant brown midrib sorghum [12]. In continuation to our effort on low-cost ethanol production, we have explored in the current investigation an under-researched and unique class of fungal species for enhanced generation of cellulase enzymes. Several studies have reported different fungal species employed in the production of cellulase enzymes from LCB using solid state (SSF) and submerged (SmF) methods [3, 13-21]. However, a comparative study on the cellulolytic enzymes production from SSF and SmF by endophytic fungi with epiphytic fungi has not been reported so far.