Isolation of bacterial species capable of hydrolyzi ng pectin

At present, almost all the pectinolytic enzymes us ed for industrial applications are produced by fung i. There are a few reports of pectinase production by bacterial strain s. In the present study, bacterial strains isolated from rotten citrus fruit samples, were screened for polygalacturonase production. Rotten fruit samples were randomly collected which had high amounts of pectin in their peels. Using Kirby Bauer method, two Bacillus strains capable of hydrolyzing pectin were screene d Both strains showed good polygalacturonase activity at neutral pH; henc e, it would be potentially useful to increase the y ield of banana, grape or apple juices, or at alkalinity, it can be used in the tex tile industry for the retting and degumming of fibe r crops, production of good quality paper, fermentation of coffee and tea, oil extractions and treatment of pectin waste water tre atment.