Thermophilic Actinomycetes from Hot Water Spring Capable of Producing Enzymes of Industrial Importance

With the increasing demand for industrial enzymes with novel properties, the production of enzymes tolerant to extreme conditions has also increased. Due to their unique macromolecular properties, thermophiles possess high metabolic rates, physically and chemically stable enzymes and higher end product yields than similar mesophilic species. Actinomycetes are bacteria which require minimal nutritional requirement for their growth and hence are preferred over thermophilic bacteria as source of industrial enzymes. In this study, thermophilic actinomycetes were isolated from hot water springs situated at Vajreshwari near Mumbai, Maharashtra and screened for the production of cellulase and amylase. Five isolates of thermophilic actinomyces obtained, tested positive for both amylolytic and cellulolytic activity. Two out of the five isolates were chosen for large scale production of the enzyme. The enzyme activity of the crude extract was determined using DNSA assay for reducing sugar. The optimum conditions for activity of amylase from isolate no. 4 were 55 C at pH 4.8 and for cellulase were 55 C at pH 9. Amylase and cellulase with high stability and good activity at elevated temperature and acidic /alkaline conditions may find commercial applications in various fields such as such starch processing, food industries and detergents industries.