BIOPROSPECÇÃO DE MICRORGANISMOS PARA COMPOSTAGEM DE RESÍDUOS ALIMENTARES

Abstract

The sustainable management of organic waste, particularly food waste, represents a growing challenge due to the large volume disposed of in landfills in Brazil. The Brazilian Cerrado, recognized as a global biodiversity hotspot, harbors microorganisms with the potential to contribute efficiently to organic waste decomposition. This study aimed to prospect, isolate, and morphologically characterize native Cerrado microorganisms with the potential to accelerate food waste decomposition. Samples were collected from a Cerrado area at the Federal Institute of Goiás, Hidrolândia Campus, using the cooked-rice baiting method. After bait colonization, the microorganisms were isolated on potato dextrose agar (PDA), purified, and subjected to macroscopic and microscopic characterization for preliminary identification at the genus level. The results indicated four main genera: Trichoderma, Penicillium, Fusarium, and Rhodotorula, with Trichoderma being the most frequently detected genus among the isolates. According to the literature, the identified genera include species associated with organic matter decomposition and the production of enzymes of biotechnological interest. Trichoderma plays an important ecological role in cellulose and hemicellulose degradation and has considerable potential as a composting accelerator and plant growth-promoting agent. Penicillium contributes significantly to waste decomposition and phosphorus solubilization, thereby improving the nutritional quality of the final compost. Saprophytic species of Fusarium are associated with lignocellulose degradation, whereas Rhodotorula acts predominantly during the initial stages of decomposition due to its ability to assimilate simple sugars and produce bioactive metabolites. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of obtaining culturable microorganisms associated with Cerrado soil and litter and provide a basis for further studies involving molecular identification, enzymatic characterization, and composting assays, which are necessary to confirm the biotechnological potential of the isolates.

Keywords: composting; Cerrado; Trichoderma, fungi; bacteria; bioinputs.