Production of Protease on Wheat Bran by a Newly Isolated Streptomyces SP. Under Solid State Fermentation

Proteases are a group of enzymes that catalyse the degradation of proteins resulting in the production of their amino acid constituents. In the present study newly isolated Streptomyces sp. was subjected to produce proteases through solid state fermentation while wheat bran was used as substrate. To produce proteases, a local strain Streptomyces sp. was isolated from a soil sample of Ezzemouls saltpan, located in Ain M'lila (East of Algeria). The phenotypic and phylogenetic studies of this strain showed that it represents probably a new species. The SSF production medium for Streptomyces sp. was optimized using Plackett and Burman statistical methods. The results showed a maximum activity on basal wheat bran medium supplemented with 1% fructose. The best SSF humidifying solution was pH 9.0 phosphate buffer at 50% moisture. Protease has an optimum at pH 7.0, which is a typical characteristic of neutral proteases. The optimum temperature was 60°C and proved stable up to 80°C. The results showed that the novel Streptomyces sp. isolate is a good producer of extracellular neutral protease on wheat bran, which can be beneficial for industries. J. Bio-Sci. 29(1): 33-48, 2021 (June)