Screening and characterization of fermentation strains of camellia sinensis seed meal and fermentation products

The rapid development of camellia oleifera industry has led to a large number of camellia oleifera seed residue, which caused serious waste of resources, restricting the sustainable development of China's camellia oleifera industry. Considering the high contents of organic matter, using camellia oleifera seed residue to prepare organic fertilizer is an effective way for resource utilization. In the process of composting, cellulose, lignin and tea saponin and other biological macromolecules should be effectively biodegraded by microorganisms. In this paper, three highly efficient degrading strains targeting cellulose and lignin in camellia oleifera seed residue were obtained by screening and domestication, including 1 strain of fungus X1-1 (Pleurostomarichardsiae), and 2 strains of bacteria M4-2 (Pseudomonas monteilii) and M5-2 (Paenibacillus sp.). The three strains can also effectively reduce the content of tea saponin in fermentation products, to realize the harmless treatment of camellia oleifera seed residue. The experimental results showed that after 28 days of fermentation with strain X1-1, M4-2 and M5-2, the degradation rates of cellulose content in camellia oleifera seed residue were 29.74%, 19.65% and 13.19%, the degradation rates of lignin content were 12.84%, 17.85% and 26.39%, and the degradation rates of tea saponin content were 34.06%, 45.05% and 46.15%, respectively. Moreover, the maturity, organic matter content, andnutrient content in fermentation product of camellia oleifera seed residue all met the organic fertilizer standards. The results of this study expand the resource utilization path of camellia oleifera seed residue, and provide good strain resources for the efficient degradation of lignin and cellulose.