ORIGINAL PAPER Application of solid waste from anaerobic digestion of poultry litter in Agrocybe aegerita cultivation: mushroom production, lignocellulolytic enzymes activity and substrate utilization Omoanghe S. Isikhuemhen Æ Nona A. Mikiashvili Æ Vinaya Kelkar Received: 11 August 2008 / Accepted: 20 October 2008 / Published online: 4 November 2008 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008 Abstract The degradation and utilization of solid waste (SW) from anaerobic digestion of poultry litter by Agrocybe aegerita was evaluated through mush- room production, loss of organic matter (LOM), lignocellulolytic enzymes activity, lignocellulose degradation and mushroom nutrients content. Among the substrate combinations (SCs) tested, substrates composed of 10–20% SW, 70–80% wheat straw and 10% millet was found to produce the highest mushroom yield (770.5 and 642.9 g per 1.5 kg of substrate). LOM in all SCs tested varied between 8.8 and 48.2%. A. aegerita appears to degrade macro- molecule components (0.6–21.8% lignin, 33.1–55.2% cellulose and 14–53.9% hemicellulose) during culti- vation on the different SCs. Among the seven extracellular enzymes monitored, laccase, peroxidase and CMCase activities were higher before fruiting; while xylanase showed higher activities after fruiting. A source of carbohydrates (e.g., millet) in the substrate is needed in order to obtain yield and biological efficiency comparable to other commer- cially cultivated exotic mushrooms. Keywords Agrocybe aegerita Á Anaerobic digester solids Á Lignocellulolytic enzymes Á Lignocellulose degradation Á Poultry litter Introduction Agro-industrial residues are generally considered the best substrates for the cultivation of many edible white rot fungi because such fungi can utilize a variety of lignocellulosic residues as substrate to produce mushrooms that can serve as human food (Madan et al. 1987). However, in the cultivation of saprophytic fungi to produce mushrooms, nutrient supplements, usually high in organic nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, etc., are added to lignocellu- losic materials like sawdust and cereals straw, in order to increase substrate degradation and mush- room yield (Royse and Sanchez-Vazquez 2003; Royse et al. 2004; Royse and Sanchez 2007). Animal beddings and residues, which are naturally high in nutrients, have been used for mushroom cultivation (Rangaswami et al. 1975; Noble et al. 2002). Poultry litter is naturally high in nutrients and has been used as supplements in the cultivation of different mushroom. Banik and Nandi (2004) O. S. Isikhuemhen (&) Á N. A. Mikiashvili Mushroom Biology & Fungal Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC 27407, USA e-mail: omon@ncat.edu V. Kelkar Department of Biology, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC 27407, USA 123 Biodegradation (2009) 20:351–361 DOI 10.1007/s10532-008-9226-y