Chitin is one of the most abundant biopolymers widely distributed in the marine and terrestrial environments. Chitinase enzyme has received increased attention due to its wide range of biotechnological applications, especially in agriculture for biocontrol of phytopathogenic fungi and harmful insects. In the present study, 58 bacterial isolates were screened for chitinolytic activity and on the basis of chitin hydrolysis zone 6 isolates were selected for chitinase production in broth media. Based on enzyme production, two most potent isolates identified as Aeromonas hydrophila HS4 and Aeromonas punctata HS6 were selected for further study. The effects of media composition and various fermentation conditions for optimization of chitinase production were studied. The maximum chitinase production was obtained at 37°C and pH 8.0 after 24–48h of incubation by HS4; and at 37°C and pH 7 after 48h incubation by HS6. Among the substrates colloidal chitin was the best for both the strains. Regarding carbon sources, starch (1%) was the best for both strains; while malt and yeast extract (1%) was found as the best nitrogen source for HS4 and HS6, respectively. Out of metal ions Mn2+ and Cu2+ enhanced enzyme production in the case of HS6. However, Co2+ was the most appropriate for HS4

The term cosmeceutical is derived from a combination of ‘cosmetic’ and ‘pharmaceutical’, and indicates that active ingredients are present in a specific cosmetic product. These cosmeceuticals or co...

The applicability of cyanobacteria executes various roles in treatment of wastewater, assembling of superfluous food and thus produces valued biomass which has various applications. Besides this, they enrich and improve the quality of water as they are photosynthetic autotrophs. Currently, cyanobacteria gained momentum for remediation of wastewaters because; firstly, they enhances the O₂ content of waters through photosynthesis and perform bioremediation of some heavy metals. Secondly, cyanobacteria play significant roles in distressing the biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, turbidity, minerals and microbes, thirdly they can be used either as axenic cultures or as mixed cultures both offering distinct advantages. Lastly, some species are tolerant towards extreme temperatures both low and high, acidic pH, high salt concentrations and heavy metals which makes them outstanding candidates for the wastewater treatment plants. The suitable immobilization methods must evolve, better understanding of their morphological and biochemical parameters is required for the optimum growth, easy methods of harvesting the biomass after the treatment are required and more trials on large scale basis are required before they can be launched on full-fledged basis for wastewater treatments.

Microbial cold-active α-amylases offer various economical and ecological benefits through energy savings by overcoming the heating requirements and also provide large biotechnological potentials. The objective of present study was to isolate new cold-adapted bacterial strains for production of cold-active α-amylases and their production optimization. Out of 30 cold-active α-amylase producing bacteria, isolated from soil of Gangotri glacier, Western Himalaya, India, two potential isolates, designated as GA2 and GA6, were selected for enzyme production. The α-amylase production was found maximum at 20°C and pH 9 after 120h incubation for GA2; and 20°C and pH 10 after 96h incubation for GA6. Among the carbon sources, lactose and glycerol was most suitable for GA2 and GA6, respectively. However, yeast extract and ammonium acetate was found best as nitrogen source by GA2 and GA6, respectively. Out of two potential isolates, maximum enzyme production (5870units) was achieved with GA2 followed by GA6 (4746units). GA2 was resistant to penicillin (10μg) among tested antibiotics and as per plasmid curing results, amylase production was a plasmid mediated characteristic. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that GA2 and GA6 have highest homology with Microbacterium foliorum (99%) and Bacillus cereus (98%), respectively. This was the first report on cold-active α-amylase production by M. foliorum strain GA2 and B. cereus strain GA6, also their 16S rRNA sequences assigned an accession number HQ832574 and HQ832575, respectively from NCBI