Research Article
Properties of Alkaline Protease C45 Produced by Alkaliphilic Bacillus Sp. Isolated from Chitu, Ethiopian Soda Lake
Gizachew Haile1* and Amare Gessesse21Jimma University, College of agriculture and veterinary medicine, Biotechnology program, Jimma, Ethiopia
2Addis Ababa University Biotechnology grogram, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Corresponding Author:
- Gizachew Haile
Addis Ababa University Biotechnology grogram
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
E-mail: gizachew.gh@gmail.com
Received date: March 15, 2012; Accepted date: April 14, 2012; Published date: April 16, 2012
Citation: Haile G, Gessesse A (2012) Properties of Alkaline Protease C45 Produced by Alkaliphilic Bacillus Sp. Isolated from Chitu, Ethiopian Soda Lake. J Biotechnol Biomater 2:136. doi:10.4172/2155-952X.1000136
Copyright: © 2012 Haile G, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
A total of 240 alkaliphilic bacteria were isolated from samples collected from alkaline soda lakes of Ethiopia and were screened for the production of alkaline proteases. Of these, 30% were protease positive indicating the abundance of protease producing microorganisms in these habitats. The Bacillus sp. designated as C45 that grow in solid state medium was selected based on the property of the enzyme for further study. The protease produced by the Bacillus sp. was active in the pH range of 6.5-11.5, with optimum activity at pH 8-9; and stable at alkaline pH. The optimum temperature for activity was 40°C and 50°C in absence and presence of 5 mM of Ca+2, respectively. The enzyme displayed appreciable activity and stability at low temperature. These properties suggest that protease C45 could find potential application for dehairing and detergent at moderate temperature. When protease C45 was added to raw hide it enabled dehairing, suggesting the potential usefulness of the enzyme in the leather industry.
