ISOLATION, CHARACTERIZATION OF PHYTASE PRODUCING BACILLUS SUBTILS BtRS2 FROM THE RHIZOSPHERE SOIL OF Bt COTTON FIELD

Soil samples of Bt Rhizosphere were collected from Bt cotton growing area of Andhra Pradesh, India and was used as a source material for isolation and screening of phytase producing bacteria. 19Bacteria were isolated from Bt Rhizosphere. Phytase enzyme activity of the cultures was screened on modified phytase solubulizing medium (MPSM). The result inferred that six isolates BtRS1 to BtRS6 were strongly positive in enzyme activity than six of other microorganisms while seven isolates were found negative and among all, Isolate BtRS2produced significantly higher phytase yield than other isolates and was chosen for species identification. Preliminary identification by microscopic and biochemical tests identified the isolate BtRS2 as Bacillus sp. Further, the identification of the strain was confirmed by subjecting it to 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The isolate BtRS2 showed high similarity to Bacillus subtilis sps and was thus designated as Bacillus subtilis BtRS2 The sequence is deposited under accession no. KC471313 in GeneBank