Abstract
Feather waste is generated in large amounts as a byproduct of commercial poultry processing. This residue is almost pure keratin, which is not easily degradable by common proteolytic enzymes. A feather-degrading bacterium was isolated from poultry feathers in decomposition. The strain identified as kr16 showed important feather-degrading activity when grown on basal medium containing 10 g/L of native feather as the source of energy, carbon, and nitrogen. The isolate was characterized according to the phenotypical characteristics and biochemical profiling that belong to the Bacillus genus. Keratinolytic activity of this isolate was monitored during cultivation of the bacterium on raw feathers at different temperatures. Maximum growth and feather-degrading activity were observed at 30–37°C. The keratinolytic enzyme had a pH optimum ranging from 8.0 to 11.0 and a temperature optimum of 45–65°C. The keratinase was strongly inhibited by EDTA and the metal ions Hg2+ and Sn2+.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Noval, J. J. and Nickerson, W. J. (1958), J. Bacteriol. 77, 251–263.
Böckle, B., Galunsky, B., and Müller, R. (1995), Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 61, 3705–3710.
Williams, C. M., Richter, C. S., Mackenzie, J. M., and Shih, J. C. S. (1990), Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 56, 1509–1515.
Zaghloul, T. I., Al-Bahra, M., and Al-Azmeh, H. (1998), Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 70–72, 207–213.
Wawrzkiewicz, K., Wolski, T., and Lobarzewski, J. (1991), Mycopathologia 114, 1–8.
Gradisar, H., Kern, S., and Friedrich, J. (2000), Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 62, 2875–2882.
Sangali, S. and Brandelli, A. (2000), Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 87, 17–24.
Lucas, F. S., Broennimann, O., Febbraro, I., and Heeb, P. (2003), Microb. Ecol. 45, 282–290.
Steiner, R. J., Kellems, R. O., and Church, D. C. (1983), J. Anim. Sci. 57, 495–502.
Wang, X. and Parsons, C. M. (1997), Poultry Sci. 76, 491–496.
Williams, C. M., Lee, C. G., Garlin, J. D., and Shih, J. C. H. (1991), Poultry Sci. 70, 85–94.
Lee, G. G., Ferket, P. R., and Shih, J. C. H. (1991), FASEB J. 59, 1312.
Peeler, J. T. and Maturin, L. J. (1992), in Bacteriological Analytical Manual, 7th ed., AOAC International, Arlington, VA, pp. 17–26.
Holt, J. D. (1993), Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, 9th ed., Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore.
Lowry, O. H., Rosebrough, N. J., Farr, A. L., and Randall, R. J. (1951), J. Biol. Chem. 193, 267–275.
Riffel, A., Lucas, F., Heeb, P., and Brandelli, A. (2003), Arch. Microbiol. 179, 258–265.
Shama, G. and Berwick, P. G. (1991), Biotechnol. Techniques 5, 359–362.
Dalev, P., Ivanov, I., and Liubomirova, A. (1997), J. Sci. Food Agric. 73, 242–244.
Young, R. A. and Smith, R. E. (1975), Can. J. Microbiol. 21, 583–586.
Atalo, K. and Gashe, B. A. (1993), Biotechnol. Lett. 15, 1151–1156.
Kim, J. M., Lim, W. J., and Suh, H. J. (2001), Process Biochem. 37, 287–291.
Raju, A. A., Chandrababu, N. K., Samivelu, N., Rose, C., and Rao, N. M. (1996), J. Am. Leather Chem. Assoc. 91, 115–119.
Letourneau, F., Soussotte, V., Bressollier, P., Branland, P., and Verneuil, B. (1998), Lett. Appl. Microbiol. 26, 77–80.
Lusterio, D. D., Suizo, F. G., Labunos, N. M., Valledor, M. N., Ueda, S., Kawai, S., Koike, K., Shikata, S., Yomatsu, T., and Ito, S. (1992), Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem. 56, 1671, 1672.
de Médicis, E. (1986), FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 37, 137–143.
Auld, D. S. (1995), Methods Enzymol. 248, 228–242.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Werlang, P.O., Brandelli, A. Characteriztion of a novel feather-degrading Bacillus sp. strain. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 120, 71–79 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1385/ABAB:120:1:71
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/ABAB:120:1:71