Molecular identification and optimization of keratinase production in keratin-degrading bacteria isolated from soil poultry of Marvdasht city

Feather is one of the environmental pollutants that about 90% of its weight is made of highly resistant creatine plates. A number of bacteria are able to produce a keratinase enzyme in the presence of keratin substrate. The purpose of this study was isolation and molecular identification of keratin- degrading bacteria from the soil of poultry farms around Marvdasht city in order to measure keratinase activity in superior creatine-degrading strains.
Material & In this study, 15 soil samples from poultry farms around Marvdasht city was collected. Seven bacterial isolates were cultured on a feather meal medium. Five isolates that showed clear degradation zone, were chosen for further chemical and molecular identification. The bacteria were sequenced, and a specific accession number in the gene bank was allocated to each of them as a new strain Then, all five isolates were assessed for the level of keratinase enzyme production.
All isolates belonged to Bacillus species. All five isolates were able to completely degrade keratine. The most keratinase activity was reported 17.12 (ml/min) for Bacillus cereus SKH1.
Different species of Bacillus in this study showed the ability to produce a keratinase enzyme in the presence of keratin substrate. Investigating the level of keratinase activity in bacterial isolates showed that all have the potential treat feather waste.