OPERE BOLANLE OLAITAN

Microbiology

At the Microbiology department office

Appointment on Visitation important

Topic: MICROBIAL DIVERSITY IN SOILS

Description:

As a Microbial Ecologist, my research is on Microbial Diversity in soils, foods, plants as well as inanimate objects that man often gets in contact with such as computer keyboards and mice, telephones, shopping carts, door handles of some public places.
Soil as a living entity of the Earth, is considered as one of the main reservoirs of microbial diversity. It is necessary to study soil microbial diversity because of the important role microbes play in maintaining soil health by recycling the nutrients, creating soil structure and humus, and also promoting the growth of plants and subsequent greater yield. However, traditional culture-dependent approaches often fail to provide clear estimates of the diversity. Hence, the advent study microbial diversity studies using culture-independent approaches was a timely advancement. The field of metagenomics, a new area of microbial genomics that aims to sequence the full or partial genomes of all members of a microbial community, helps in studying the genomes of the diverse soil organisms collectively in their natural habitat, including non-culturing strains. 
 In keeping with the global trend in the field of microbial ecology, my current research exploits span the application of metagenomics in the study of microbial community diversity and functional dynamism in relation to sustainable agriculture.

#	Certificate	School	Year
1.	Ph.D (Microbiology)	University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos	2009

ISOLATION OF CELLULASE-PRODUCING MICROORGANISMS FROM SUGAR CANE BAGASSE DUMP SITES IN LAGOS, NIGERIA

Introduction

Soil is an important reservoir for a diverse group of microorganisms. However, human activities including disposal of solid wastes affects the quality, composition, and microbial communities in the soil. The polymeric units of compounds in a soil determines the type of microbial activities in the soil.  Interestingly, soil filled with solid wastes further possesses a higher reservoir of some polymers that are industrially useful. Solid wastes are made up of about 50% cellulose, 12% hemicelluloses and between 10% to 15% lignin on a dry weight basis (Rani and Nand, 2000; Gautam et al., 2010). These wastes can be leveraged to become assets rather than being liabilities by harnessing their natural reservoir of resources.  
Aim/Objective
This work investigated the cellulose-degrading potential of the microbial profile of a sugarcane bagasse dumpsite at Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State.

Materials and Methods
The samples were processed and inoculated on Nutrient Agar and Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA), to isolate bacteria and fungi. However, the cellulose-degrading ability of the isolates were determined by subculturing the isolates into Mandel’s medium containing Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). The physiochemical analysis of the soil samples revealed the variations in parameters such as pH, moisture, nitrogen, organic carbon etc, at different soil depth.
Results
Four cellulose-degrading bacteria and fungi were isolated.
 The isolated bacterial species are Bacillus species, Serratia species, Pseudomonas species and Lactobacillus species. Bacillus species had the highest cellulose-degrading potential amongst the four isolates with Serratia species having the lowest. The isolated fungal species are Aspergillus niger, Penicillium species, Mucor species, Neurospora species, Microsporium species and Aspergillus flavus.  

Contribution to Knowledge
The research has revealed the potentialities of these microbes in the degradation of cellulose, thus playing key role in nutrient cycling.

OPERE BOLANLE is a Associate Professor / Reader at the Department of Microbiology

OPERE has a Ph.D in Microbiology from University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos