Screening and Optimization of Protease Enzyme Produced by Strains of Alkalihalobacillus Sp. and Bacillus Sp.

Proteases are the most important industrial enzymes with diverse applications in bacteria, such as Bacillus, commonly used to produce protease for industrial purposes. Proteases are commercially exploited in a larger scale, especially in pharmaceutical, food, leather, and detergent industries. The present study sought to screen and optimize protease enzyme activity produced by local bacteria. The effects of incubation time, temperature, and initial pH were investigated to improve the extracellular protease enzyme activity by two bacteria, named Bacillus subtilis strain DAR and Alkalihalobacillus hwajinpoensis strain 3NB. These two isolates have already been isolated and registered from Iran. The results indicated that the optimum incubation time for the protease activity in B. Subtilis strain DAR is 36 h in contrast to 40 h in Alkalihalobacillus hwajinpoensis strain 3NB. The optimum incubation temperatures for enzyme activity for B. Subtilis and Alkalihalobacillus hwajinpoensis are 50°C and 40°C, respectively. Optimum pH values for protease activity of both bacteria are 8. The optimum incubation time, pH, and temperature were investigated for better protease activity. Further studies are recommended to improve protease activity by changing enzyme substrates.