FARM WASTE RECYCLING THROUGH MICROBIAL KERATINASES

A culture medium was optimized for the production of extra cellular keratinase by a newly isolated strain of Bacillus sp. from Goa, India in shake-flask culture. The keratinase production was increased by approximately 40-fold when the strain was grown in an inexpensive optimized medium (120 U.mL-1) compared to the un-optimized medium (3.80 U.mL-1). The maximum amount of keratinase activity was produced at 37°C when the bacterium was cultured for 72 h in medium containing feather meal as the sole source of carbon and 0.025% yeast extract with initial pH of 7.0 under submerged fermentation. The isolated keratinilytic Bacillus sp also exhibited remarkable feather degrading ability. These results suggest potential biotechnological applications of this bacterium that involve hydrolysis of keratin, including the improvement of the nutritional properties of feathers (and other keratins) used as supplementary feedstuffs.