Screening and isolation of amylase producing bacillus species

Abstract

Amylases are the starch degrading enzymes which hydrolyses the α-1,4 glycosidic linkages of the starch .Because of the numerous applications of amylases the present study was aimed at screening of the amylase producing organisms from soil samples collected from different sources. Among the different isolates obtained one of them which has a larger zone of hydrolysis was selected. The isolates were identified as Bacillus species by gram’s staining method and further subjected for estimation of their amylase activity by performing an assay in the fermentation medium. The maximum enzyme activity was observed at an optimum temperature of 370C, neutral pH of 7 for an incubation period of 24hours.
Amylase is present in the saliva of humans and some other mammals, where it begins the chemical process of digestion. Foods that contain large amounts of starch are chewed because of amylase which degrades the starch into sugars to supply the body with energy. As it is a major digestive enzyme in the animals and easily produced by microorganisms the present study was aimed to screen and isolate the amylase activity by Bacillus species.