Identification of a glutaminase-producing bacterial strain isolated from Thai fermented pork sausage and characterisation of glutaminase production

Abstract

Glutaminase is one of the most important flavour-enhancing enzymes used in the food industry. Among 108 glutaminase -producing bacteria isolated from fermented foods in Thailand, one isolate (JRT-7) that exhibited the highest glutaminase activity was selected for further study. Morphological and physiological characteristics, and 16S rDNA sequence-based phylogenetic analysis identified strain JRT-7 as Kurthia gibsonii. Moreover, the highest specific activity of glutaminase (0.057 U/mg) was obtained when JRT-7 was grown in a medium containing 2.5% succinate and 2.5% L-glutamine.