SCREENING OF AMYLASE PRODUCING BACTERIA

Microbial enzymes have a lot of properties which makes them useful for particular works. Amylases are enzymes that break down starch or glycogen. In this work, potential amylase producing bacterial strain were isolated from soil and screened for amylase production. This was achieved by observation of clear zone of starch hydrolysis in starch agar plate, determination of amylase activity of crude amylase produced in submerged fermentation. Identification of the best isolate was achieved by biochemical tests analysis, morphological and microscopic characteristics, observation of clear zone of starch hydrolysis in starch agar plate. The isolates were Bacillus subtilis A1, Bacillus subtilis A2 and Bacillus subtilis B2. This study has shown that the studied samples harbored amylase producing Bacillus species of which Bacillus subtilis A1 exhibited the highest starch hydrolysis ratio (SHR).