Isolation, Identification and Characterization of Feather Degrading Raoultella electrica from Poultry Waste Containing Soil
Authors
I. Prasanna, Bharathiar University, Tamilnadu, India.
K. Moorthy (Associate Professor)
Vivekanandha College of Arts and Sciences for Women, Tiruchengode, Tamilnadu, India.
Abstract
Poultry industry waste carries a major proportion of feathers, which include particularly
Keratin. Keratin is an insoluble, fibrous protein, which makes the feathers proof against proteolytic
enzymes. Numerous microbial isolates can carry out the degradation of such complex substrates. This
study uses the ability of soil bacteria to degrade feather waste. Among the 112 isolates, 17 of them able to
simultaneously hydrolyse skimmed milk and utilize chicken feather as the sole source of carbon and
nitrogen. On the basis of enzyme assay, isolate 13 was found potent keratinase producers as compared to
other isolates; such was expressed to 14.12U/ml of keratinase. Identification of potential keratinolytic
isolate through 16S rRNA analysis revealed that it belongs to Raoultella electrica. Due to its potential
keratinolytic action, the isolate may serve as a candidate for the management of feather waste and
various biotechnological and industrial applications.