Statistical optimization of chitinase production by box–behnken design in submerged fermentation using bacillus cereus gs02

Abstract

Chitinase is a glycosyl hydrolase that cleaves chitin and has gained enormous attention due to its extensive biotechnological applications in various sectors including agricultural, industrial, medicinal, and environmental. It is important to have high yield of the enzyme with low cost of production for sustainable use. Culture medium is needed to be optimized to enhance the enzyme secretion and decreasing its cost. The present work describes optimization of the culture medium components and physical parameters for fermentation utilizing the statistical method to enhance chitinase production. A potent isolate Bacillus cereus GS02, which was locally isolated from soil earlier, was used for response surface methodology (RSM) mediated optimization of chitinase production. Four individual significant factors obtained after one factor at a time, namely, colloidal chitin, yeast extract, inoculum size, and pH were selected and utilized for fermentation process maximization. Box–Behnken design of RSM was applied for optimization of chitinase production for high yield. The optimum level was achieved at 15 g/l colloidal chitin, 0.72 g/l yeast extract, and 1.2% inoculum size and at pH 6.25 when incubated for 48 h in submerged fermentation, which resulted in 5.08-fold increase in chitinase production. Thus, B. cereus GS02 could be exploited for chitinase production at large scale for various biotechnological applications.