Abstract

Pseudomonas fluorescens AU₁₇ was isolated from the fish waste discharged soil and it was tested for its ability to produce the protease enzyme. The effect of different production parameters such as temperature, pH, carbon and nitrogen sources and sodium chloride concentration for protease production by the isolated bacterial strain were studied. The optimum conditions observed for protease production were temperature (37°C) and pH 9, 1% wheat bran for carbon source, 0.5% peptone for nitrogen source; magnesium sulphate has less inhibitory effect among the metal ions tested. Under optimized parameters, maximum protease activity was 0.9343 U/ml/min. The bacterial isolate has potential that could be commercially exploited to assist in protein degradation in various industrial processes.

Key words: Alkaline protease, casein agar, fish contaminated soil, Pseudomonas fluorescens, fibrinolytic activity.