Restudy of the characters of alkaline cellulase production from an ATCC alkalophilic Bacillus strain

We studied the alkaline cellulase gene of American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) stored strain ATCC 21833, which was reported to be Bacillus sp. N-4. The alkaline cellulase gene initially isolated from this strain showed low homology to the reported N-4 alkaline cellulase gene. Therefore we restudied the characters of alkaline cellulase production from this strain and characterized the produced cellulase. The results show that carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) was the best carbon source for the ATCC strain, and its alkaline cellulase activity reached 0.64 U/mL when the strain was cultured in a medium that consisted of CMC, peptone and yeast extract. The optimal pH and the optimal temperature for the produced alkaline cellulase are 10.0 and 40℃ respectively. The characters for cellulase production with strain ATCC 21833 and the produced cellulase are different from that of Bacillus strain N-4, proving these two organisms are different.