Isolation, Identification and Screening of Alkaline Protease from Thermophilic Fungal Species of Raipur

Abstract

Proteases are protein degrading enzymes that catalyse the hydrolytic reaction in which protein molecules are degraded into peptides and amino acids. Thermostable alkaline proteases are of particularly great interest for industrial application because they are stable and active at a temperature above 60–70 ̊C. Thermophiles are found in a wide array of environment such as mushroom compost material, nest, hay, wood chips, grains, soil, manure, coal mines etc. Alkaline proteases are the most important industrial enzymes and they occupy about 60% of the total enzyme market. From the soil samples, eight different fungal species were isolated through soil dilution plate method. In the present study, two fungi Aspergillus nidulans and A. glaucus from mushroom compost and two fungi A. terreus, and A. fumigates from cow manure, showing alkaline protease activity, were isolated. The zones of clearance were observed in A. nidulans, A. glaucus, A. terreus, and, A. fumigatus species of fungi isolated from cow manure and mushroom compost. The best enzyme production was observed in A. terreus (1.005±0.057 IU/mg protein) obtained from cow manure and the minimum enzyme activity was observed with A. glaucus (0.278±0.026 IU/mg protein). However, more studies are required to assess the potential of A. nidulans, A. glaucus, A. terreus, and A. fumigatus species. Key-wordsAlkaline protease, Thermophiles, Trichloroacetic acid, Zone of clearance INTRODUCTION Enzymes are the biocatalyst that perform a multitude of chemical reactions and are commercially exploited in the different industries. Protease, pectinase, lipase, cellulase, renin and papain are some of the important enzymes that have been used commercially worldwide. More than 3000 enzymes are described to date which has been used in industries mainly from the mesophilic microorganism. The enzymes isolated from the mesophilic Microorganisms get denatured and lose their activities at the temperature over 50–60 ̊C. However, enzymes obtained from thermophilic Microorganism are dynamic at a high temperature, have unique characteristics of high reactivity and long term stability . Thermophilic fungi were isolated from soil sample . Thermophilic fungi are a small assemblage in group Mycota that grow at or above 45oC Thermophilic fungi are mainly used for the production of such enzymes. Access this article online Quick Response Code Website: