Abstract

Screening of an Actinomycete Isolate of Sambhar Salt Lake, India for Production of Industrial Enzymes

Author(s): Charu Sharma, Payal Mehtani, Surbhi Maroo, Sreemoyee Chatterjee, Pradeep Bhatnagar and Nupur Mathur

Actinomycetes constitute a diverse group of Gram positive mycelial bacteria found in terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments. They are well known producers of bioactive compounds such as antibiotics and are now being studied for the production of industrial enzymes. The majority of currently used industrial enzymes are hydrolytic in action and are used for the degradation of various natural substances. Detergent, textile, pulp and paper industries, organic synthesis and biofuels industry are the major consumers of hydrolytic enzymes. The demand for more stable enzymes in many industrial applications is growing rapidly today, which can be satisfied if actinomycetes from diverse and extreme environments are isolated and studied for enzyme production. In the present study, an actinomycete isolate of Sambhar salt lake, India was characterized and studied for the production of hydrolytic enzymes. The isolate produced three important enzymes protease, amylase and cellulase but it was not able to produce xylanase.