Studies on the effect of pH and carbon sources on enzyme activities of some pectinolytic bacteria isolated from jute retting water

Abstract

The effect of pH of the assay media and different carbon sources in the culture media on the activities of 4 diff erent enzymes, namely polygalacturonase (PG), pectin lyase (PNL), xylanase, and cellulase, of some pectinolytic bacteria were studied. Th e pectinolytic bacterial strains were isolated from the jute retting water bodies of 2 important jute growing areas of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India. Th e highest PG (12.45 to 41.0 IU/g cell wet weight) and PNL (22.55 to 75.7 U/mL) activities occurred at the alkaline pH of 8.0 and 8.5, respectively. Maximum xylanase activity (0.01 to 0.735 μmol/mL/min) occurred at pH 7.0. An acidic pH of 5.0 favored the cellulase activity (0 to 0.168 μmol/mL/ min). All the enzymes were highly substrate specifi c and inducible in nature. Th e highest PG and PNL activities were observed in the presence of pectin, whereas the highest xylanase and cellulase activities were detected in the presence of xylan and cellulose, respectively, as the sole carbon source in the media. © TÜBİTAK.