Journal of Microbial & Biochemical Technology

Abstract

Production of Polyhydroxyalkanoate from Paenibacillus durus BV-1 Isolated from Oil Mill Soil

Basavaraj Hungund, Shyama VS, Pallavi Patwardhan and Arabi Mohammed Saleh

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are polyesters naturally synthesized by numerous bacteria as intracellular energy storage materials during unbalanced growth. These polyesters find many applications in medicine, veterinary practice, tissue engineering, food packaging, etc. In the present study, spent wash and oil mill soil samples were screened for the isolation of bacteria producing polyhydroxyalkanoates. Different bacterial isolates were screened by PCR using primers designed for Bacillus megaterium. Isolate-4 reacted positively giving amplicons similar in size to that of Bacillus megaterium. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, isolate-4 was identified as Paenibacillus durus. Nitrogen limited mineral salt medium with fructose as chief carbon source was used for production of Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) in shake flask studies. The effect of various carbon and nitrogen sources on PHB production was evaluated, with respect to yield and PHB content. The study revealed that fructose and peptone gave better PHB accumulation and growth rates for the isolate and the reference strain, and hence, were the best among the carbon and nitrogen sources used. Further studies are needed to optimize the production conditions.