Screening and optimization of extracellular pectinase produced by Bacillus thuringiensis SH7

Abstract

The objective of the current research was to identify and evaluate the possibility of production of pectinase, also known as pectin degrading enzymes, from indigenous bacterial strains. Qualitative screening of isolated bacterial strains showed that among 29 bacterial strains, 5 have maximum enzymatic activity. The highest pectinase producing strains were quantitatively analyzed for enzyme production. SH7 strain was found as highest pectinase producer (0.77 IU/mL) that was further analyzed to molecular level by amplification of 16s rRNA. It was found 100% similar with other reported strains of Bacillus thuringiensis. Medium optimization was performed to optimize fermentation conditions for maximum enzyme yield. An experimental design containing 12 experimental runs was designed by Plackett-Burman design (PBD). Maximum pectinase activity was obtained at 45°C after 24 h when the growth medium was supplemented with 2.5% nitrogen, 5.0% substrate, MgSO4 as metal ion, 1% inoculum size, and pH was adjusted to 6. Factorial regression analysis of the PBD design was performed and the overall design was also found significant in terms of R square value. In PBD, the most significant factors for production were temperature, pH, metal ion concentration, and nitrogen source. Central composite design (CCD) design consisting of 26 experimental runs was employed to optimize these four significant factors. The overall model summary showed maximum pectinase activity (19.2 IU/mL) at 37°C temperature, 0.08 NaCl, 1.7% nitrogen source, and pH 8.4. In CCD, NaCl, nitrogen source, and pH were also reported as significant factors by the Pareto chart, probability plots, and 3D interactions.