Chapter category: Biotechnology

Degradation of Keratin and Collagen Containing Wastes by Enzyme Mixtures Produced by Newly Isolated Thermophylic Actinomycetes

This chapter appears in the following book:

Enzyme Mixtures and Complex Biosynthesis

Edited by: Sanjoy K. Bhattacharya
ISBN: 978-1-58706-216-2
» Get more information about this book at landesbioscience.com «

Chapter authors:
Diana Braikova, Evgenia Vasileva-Tonkova, Adriana Gushterova and Peter Nedkov

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Thermophilic actinomycetes isolated from Bulgarian and Antarctic soils were investigated for production of collagenolytic and keratinolytic enzymes during growth on keratin- and collagen‑containing wastes used as a sole carbon source. Strains Microbispora sp. A‑35 and Thermoactinomyces sp. E‑15 that were isolated from Bulgarian soils produced highly stable “collagenase‑like” enzymes with molecular weights between 46 and 140 kDa. Preliminary experiments showed that the enzyme mixture obtained by both strains is especially suitable for application in the pelt industry for “softening” the leathers. A simple and low‑cost method was proposed for rapid and effective biodegradation of keratin- and collagen‑containing wastes by four strains of the genus Thermoactinomyces, isolated from Bulgarian soils. The obtained microbial hydrolysates contained predominantly low‑molecular peptides and amino acids, including essential ones, while the alkaline hydrolysate contained mainly peptides of higher molecular weight. Therefore, the obtained microbial products could be applied not only as fertilizers but even as protein additives to livestock and fish food. It was shown for first time that Antarctic actinomycetes were able to grow on keratin wastes producing keratinolytic enzymes. Of these, Streptomyces flavis 2BG (mesophilic) and Microbispora aerata 11A (thermophilic) possesed relatively high keratinase activity, which was stimulated by adding starch to the growth medium. The results showed that both strains are very promising for effective processing of keratinous wastes.

Diana Braikova
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Organic Chemistry

Evgenia Vasileva-Tonkova
Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

Adriana Gushterova
Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

Peter Nedkov
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Organic Chemistry

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Chapter category: Biotechnology

Degradation of Keratin and Collagen Containing Wastes by Enzyme Mixtures Produced by Newly Isolated Thermophylic Actinomycetes

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