Characterization of a New Thermoalkalophilic Xylanase-Producing Bacterial Strain Isolated from Cimanggu Hot Spring,West Java, Indonesia

Microbiology Indonesia
Vol. 5 No. 3 (2011): September 2011

Alkalophilic bacteria and their enzymes are important for industrial applications. Therefore, finding out new strains of alkalophilic bacteria from Indonesian microbial diversity is still required. In this study, a thermoalkalophilic bacterium was isolated from sediment of local hot spring, Cimanggu,West Java. The temperature of the spot was 60 °C and the pH was 8. The bacterium could live at pH 11 and temperature 55 °C, and produced xylanase that have optimal activity at alkaline pH 9 and high temperature 70 °C. Based on the analyses of 16S rRNA sequence similarity and biochemical characteristics, this strain was clustered into the same group of Bacillus halodurans species with 99% identity to Bacillus halodurans C-125. The isolate also showed other enzyme activities such as amylase, protease, and gelatinase, promising its potential use as an industrial enzymes producer.