Isolation, screening and identification of amylase and catalase producing bacterial strains from marine sediments

Marine sediments are valuable source of industrially useful enzymes. Here, we attempted isolation, screening and identification of bacterial strains from marine sediments which produce industrially important enzymes amylase and catalase. Marine sediment samples were collected and cultured on zobell marine agar medium. After incubation, the isolates that showed amylase and catalase activity were selected for the assay. The strains AM01 and Ca07 showed the highest amylase and catalase activity, respectively. The selected strains were further sequenced for identification. Morphological studies indicated that the isolates were Gram -ve, rod shaped and non-motile organism. The phenotypic characterization and 16S rRNA of the strains AM01 and Ca07 revealed them to be Klebsiella pneumoniae and K. quasipneumoniae, respectivel

Isolation, screening and identification of amylase and catalase producing bacterial strains from marine sediments

853-860Marine sediments are valuable source of industrially useful enzymes. Here, we attempted isolation, screening and identification of bacterial strains from marine sediments which produce industrially important enzymes amylase and catalase. Marine sediment samples were collected and cultured on zobell marine agar medium. After incubation, the isolates that showed amylase and catalase activity were selected for the assay. The strains AM01 and Ca07 showed the highest amylase and catalase activity, respectively. The selected strains were further sequenced for identification. Morphological studies indicated that the isolates were Gram -ve, rod shaped and non-motile organism. The phenotypic characterization and 16S rRNA of the strains AM01 and Ca07 revealed them to be Klebsiella pneumoniae and K. quasipneumoniae, respectively

Bioethanol production from local fruit waste and its optimization

Bioethanol has been a focus of researchers as alternate green fuel. Agro residues could be a promising resource for bioechanol production. In this study, we explored the potential of these fruit wastes to produce total reducing sugars (TRS), pentose sugars (PS) and bioethanol.. For this purpose, fruit wastes (pineapple, cashew fruit and plantain peels) were taken as a substrate with the use of microorganism Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The conversion of fruits wastes were carried out via acid hydrolysis, which yielded fermentable sugar. The results showed that the ethanol production rate through fermentation of fruit waste yields was optimal at pH 5.5, temperature 32°C, specific gravity 0.865 and a concentration of about 6.10%. For viability of producing ethanol in large quantities and reasonable costs, we did optimization of various physicochemical parameters viz. pH, temperature and specific gravity. The waste materials after fermentation serve as soil fertilizer

Cephalopod research and bioactive substances

13-27Marine environment comprises complex ecosystems and many of the organisms are known to possess bioactive components as a common means of self-defense or for the protection of eggs and embryos. In recent years, many bioactive compounds have been extracted, characterized and purified from various marine animals like bacteria, algae, dinoflagellates, tunicates, sponges, soft corals, bryozoans, cephalopods, and echinoderms. Present review consists of the research work done on the biology of the cephalopods, mainly pertaining to the feeding strategies (the salivary gland toxins, body and liver oils), the reproductive strategies (the ovarian-peptides, the nidamental gland products, accessory nidamental gland products and the associated symbiotic bacteria), and the defence mechanisms (the ink glands and their bioactive products, the squid-vibrio association, the camouflage colouration mechanisms and the reflectin-proteins). The learning capabilities and personalities of octopods have been a matter of great interest in cephalopod ethology. The aspect of cephalopod welfare in laboratory and field studies merits scientific debate because of the biological and behavioural complexities exhibited by these highly evolved, lovable invertebrates