Lignocellulose is the most abundant and renewable resource which can be used for the production of bioethanol by enzymatic hydrolysis with enzymes like cellulase, hemicellulase and laccase. The use of bioethanol as biofeul has the potential to overcome the rising concerns of scarcity of fossil fuels and emission of green house gases. The present work was done to isolate, identify, and characterize cellulase producing bacteria from soil samples collected different areas in Rasuwa district. Cellulase producing bacteria were selected based on the diameter of hydrolytic zone formed around the colony after staining with congo red. A total of six bacteria were isolated. These isolates were characterized morphologically as well as using 16s r RNA gene sequencing. Among these six bacterial isolates, gram positive, rod bacteria “C1c” showed highest cellulolytic activity. This bacterial strain will be futher optimized for the production of extracellular cellulase. Exploration of cellulolytic bacteria having unique properties for the conversion of lignocelluloses can be exploited for the various biotechnological applications.
