Dept of Biotechnology, Arni Kathgarh, Indora Distt. - Kangra, Himachal Pradesh (India)

Soil is a complex, dynamic and living habitat for a large number of organisms. Bacteria are an important part of the soil micro-flora because of their abundance, species diversity and the multiplicity of their metabolic activities. Soil is the medium for a large variety of organisms and interacts closely with the wider biosphere; conversely, biological activity is a primary factor in the physical and chemical formation of soils. In the present study, Bacteria from soil samples were isolated and identified according to standard method. 71 isolates were isolated from different region of India. Different isolates were identified as Klebsiella sp., Micrococcus sp., Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus sp., Enterobacter sp., Citrobacter sp., Neisseria sp., Pseudomonas sp. and also screened for some enzymes of biotechnological importance. Isolates were screened for hydrolytic activity of amylase, protease and cellulase. All the isolates elaborated enzymatic activity which were rank as follow: amylase 40%, cellulase 30%, protease 21%. Isolates of soil samples were shown highest hydrolytic activity of amylase. This study revealed that isolates associated with soil samples and their ability to produces hydrolytic enzymes. Amylase is highly demanded industrial enzyme in various sectors such as pharmaceutical, food, textiles, detergent. WL-2 isolate was further characterized characterized by using MSA (mannitol salt agar). WL-2 show yellow colour halo on MSA. WL-2 isolate was selected as best amylase producer and identified as Staphylococcus aureus. WL-2 isolate was shown amylase positive results by producing clear halos in the TSA agar medium. AS-2 isolate was shown their enzyme activity at 0.879 absorbance which is corresponds to 24000 U of amylase production. Enzyme showed an optimum activity at pH 6.5 and highly stable at optimum temperature at 7.5.

Keywords: Amylase; Bacillus sp.; Enterobacter sp.; Klebsiella sp; MRSA.