JOURNAL OF CULTURE COLLECTIONS
Volume 6, 2008-2009, pp. 28-37

proteolytic actinomycetes from Indian habitats

Richa Jain*, S. C. Agrawal and P. C. Jain

Department of Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Dr. Hari Singh Gour Vishwavidyalaya, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh 470 003, India

*Corresponding author, e-mail: richajain_198@hotmail.com

Summary

Three hundred five actinomycetes isolated from different habitats were screened for their proteolytic activity using gelatin as substrate. As many as 153 (i.e., 50.17 %) isolates were found positive for proteolytic activity, out of which 12 isolates showed greater relative enzyme activity (REA ³ 8.5). These isolates have been identified and further tested for production of proteases in liquid cultures. Streptomyces exfoliatus CFS 1068 and Streptomyces sampsonii GS 1322 were found to possess excellent protease activity i.e., equivalent to 115.2 and 116.0 U/ml.h in the culture filtrates. The significance of these actinomycetes in nature and in management of industrial waste has been discussed in the present paper.

Key words: actinomycetes, gelatin, habitat, proteolytic activity

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