EXTRACELLULAR LIPASE FROM BACILLUS SUBTILIS KUBT4: ISOLATION, IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION

Lipases occupy a prominent place amongst biocatalysts as they can hydrolyze fats into fatty acids and glycerol at the water-lipid interface. Lipase production is a prime area of interest for microbiologists, process engineers, and biochemists. Recent advances in green energy have led to renewed interest in the ability of microbial lipases to catalyze trans-esterification reaction for biodiesel production. Research carried out in this field has revealed that microbes, especially fungi and bacteria, are the tools of choices for commercial production. The primary objective of the study was to isolate lipase-producing microbes from the waste product of oil-contaminated soil sample and to assess their ability to grow in different oil medium. Samples were collected from oil-contaminated garages in Hubli-Dharwad region, Dharwad, Karnataka. Lipid-degrading microbes were trapped in a specialized medium containing various types of oils. All isolated strains were morphologically, physiologically and biochemically characterized. Strain S4-4 was found to be the most efficient strain as it showed the highest lipase activity (25 μmoles/ml/min) after 24 h of incubation at 37 °C amongst the strains. This isolate is identified as Bacillus subtilis by 16S rRNA sequence analysis.