Screening and Characterisation of Keratinase Enzyme Obtained From Keratin Degrading Microorganism Isolated From Sanjan Poultry Waste Dumping Soil

A large amount of feather waste is generated from the poultry industry. This waste containing a considerable amount of keratin can be utilized by microorganisms thus leading to its environmentally safe disposal. The objective of the study was to isolate and identify a feather degrading bacterium from poultry farm soil, optimize the cultural conditions and partial purification of keratinase enzyme using ammonium sulphate precipitation, followed by exploring the applications. The study was carried out by collecting soil samples, enrichment using an appropriate enrichment medium, followed by screening, identification and then optimizing cultural conditions. The isolated keratinolytic bacterium carried out complete degradation of the feather waste within 4 weeks and was found to be of Bacillus sp. by biochemical identification. The bacterium presented optimum growth at pH 6.8 and a temperature of 37 oC. The keratinase enzyme activity was found to be 8.80U/ml/min for isolate P and 13.60U/ml/min for isolate W. The study shows the potential of the feather degrading isolate to carry out environmentally safe disposal of poultry waste and also to produce amino acids from a cheap raw material.