• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.328-335
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• 2013

As a result of conducting a cultural experiment of tomato using chicken feather protein hydrolysate (CPH) which was mass produced by keratin protein degrading bacterium Chryseobacterium sp. FBF-7 (KACC 91463P), we found that the stem and the root of tomato showed significant improvement in growth. For the purpose of phylogenic interpretation, a comparison was drawn between the effect of CPH, a treated CPH and untreated, on the changes of bacterial populations by 454 pyrosequencing based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. Tomato rhizosphere soil untreated with CPH (NCPH) showed 6.54 Shannon index from 3,281 sequence reads, and the rhizosphere soil treated with CPH (TCPH) showed 6.33 Shannon index from 2,167 sequence reads, displaying that it does not affect the diversity. Bacterial populations were composed of 19 phyla in the rhizosphere soil, and the phylum Proteobacteria occupied 40% of total bacterial populations. Bradyrhizobium, Agromonas, Nitrobacter, and Afipia (BANA group) which belong to Bradyrhizobiaceae were abundant and commonly detected in both the treated and untreated soils, suggesting the dominance of bacterial group in rhizosphere soil. The results obtained showed that CPH treatment does not affect the indigenous bacterial populations present in the rhizosphere soil.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.1203-1208
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• 2007

Feathers are produced in huge quantities as a waste product at commercial poultry processing plants. Since feathers are almost pure keratin protein, feather wastes represent an alternative to more expensive dietary ingredients for animal feedstuffs. Generally they become feather meal used as animal feed after undergoing physical and chemical treatments. These processes require significant energy and also cause environmental pollutions. Therefore, biodegradation of feather by microorganisms represents an alternative method to prevent environment contamination. The aim of this study was to investigate cultural conditions affecting keratinolytic protease production by Bacillus pumilus RS7. We also assessed the nutritive value of microbial and alkaline feather hydrolysates, The composition of optimal medium for the keratinolytic protease was fructose 0.05%, yeast extract 0.3%, NaCl 0.05%, K2HPO4 0.03%, KH2PO4 0.04% and MgCl2 6H2O 0.01%, respectively. The optimal temperature and initial pH was $30^{\circ}C$ and 9.0, respectively. The keratinolytic protease production under optimal condition reached a maximum after 18 h of cultivation. Total amino acid content of feather hydrolysates treated by NaOH and B. pumilius RS7 was $113.8\;{\mu}g/ml$ and $504.9\;{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. Essential amino acid content of feather hydrolysates treated by NaOH and B. pumilius RS7 was $47.2\;{\mu}g/ml$ and $334.0\;{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. Thus, feather hydrolysates have the potential for utilization as an ingredient in animal feed.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.1095-1100
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• 2014

Keratin wastes are generated in excess of million tons per year worldwide and biodegradation of keratin by microorganisms possessing keratinase activity can be used as an alternative tool to prevent environmental pollution. For practical use of keratinase, its physicochemical properties should be investigated in detail. In this study, we investigated characteristics of keratinase produced by Xanthomonas sp. P5 which is isolated from rhizospheric soil of soybean. The level of keratinase produced by the strain P5 increased with time and reached its maximum (10.6 U/ml) at 3 days. The production of soluble protein had the same tendency as the production of keratinase. Optimal temperature and pH of keratinase were $40^{\circ}C-45^{\circ}C$ and pH 9, respectively. The enzyme showed broad temperature and pH stabilities. Thermostability profile showed that the enzyme retained 94.6%-100% of the original activity after 1 h treatment at $10^{\circ}C-40^{\circ}C$. After treatment for 1 h at pH 6-10, 89.2%-100% of the activity was remained. At pH 11, 71.6% of the original activity was retained after 1 h treatment. Although the strain P5 did not degrade human hair, it degraded duck feather and chicken feather. These results indicate that keratinase from Xanthomonas sp. P5 could be not only used to upgrade the nutritional value of feather hydrolysate but also useful in situ biodegradation of feather.