Investigate the influence of addition of kraft lignin in a bacterial community native from Caatinga soil, evaluating how the taxonomic composition changed over time and which members or bacterial groups could potentially suggest ligninolytic activity.. Taxonomic Diversity and Lignin Biodegradation in Bacterial Community of Caatinga Soil

Caatinga is an exclusively Brazilian biome, accounting for approximately 11% of the country and considered the most diverse semi-arid region of the world. On the other hand, it is the least protected biome by conservation units in Brazil, and the least scientifically explored among all other biomes, with 41% of its territory ever sampled. The semi-arid climate, low water availability and extremely variable rainfall attach great variability of adaptive mechanisms to the native biota from Caatinga, leading to the existence of extremophilic microorganisms able to support such extreme environmental conditions. Although the researches about lignin has increased in the last decades, the knowledge of its ecological role and biotechnological applications still incipient and scarce, lacking data about both reporting of bacterial species associated with its degradation and use as single carbon source in extreme environments, like Caatinga. The aim of our study was to investigate the influence of addition of kraft lignin in a bacterial community native from Caatinga soil, evaluating how the taxonomic composition changed over time and which members or bacterial groups could potentially suggest ligninolytic activity.