T.S. BLESSY THAYALIN AND V. PRABAKARAN
Abstract
Keratin is an insoluble fibrous protein that causes serious disposable problems. Keratinase, an enzyme can able to hydrolyze these insoluble keratins. The bacteria Bacillus megaterium revealed higher keratinase activity screened out of eight different bacterial strains isolated. The highest keratinase activity (72.875/U/mg) was observed at pH 7.5 in temperature 35°C with substrate concentration 2% and the incubation time of 96 hours. The molecular weight of this keratinase exhibiting four protein bands of 122, 53, 42 and 32 KD analyzed by SDS-PAGE. Bacillus megaterium contained 43% and 44.5% of total free amino acids whereas the immobilized cells of Bacillus megaterium exhibited 66% and 69.5% of total free amino acids. The FTIR analysis revealed that it contains Benzothiodiazole. From this present study, the keratinous waste can be biologically degraded by enzymes or the microorganisms which play a vital role in converting waste into useful products.