COLD-ACTIVE EXO-INULINASE ENZYME: ISOLATION AND SCREENING OF ENDOPHYTIC MICROBES FROM FRUITS

Microbial inulinases have a great potential for industrial use in the production of fructose from inulin. Optimization of the growth parameters of the microbes is essential to obtain inulinase in sufficient quantity. The present work aims to obtain inulinase from different fruits of endophytic bacteria and optimize its growth parameters. In a total of 22 isolates and among them, each one isolates from each fruit of, Banana, Pineapple and Zapata were isolated by endophytic bacteria were identified as efficient inulinase producers by SEM analysis. The optimum temperature (4 °C) and pH of these organisms were found 5.0 – 7.0 respectively. Inulin was observed to be the suitable carbon source and also a specific substrate Banana powder for these organisms. The work has been done to grow in 4’C and 37 °C, morphological, physiological, and biochemical characters, grow in agar plate with the specific substrate for zone formation, gram staining, and estimation of inulinase enzyme for using different carbon sources to compare with specific activity for protein content. The molecular weight of this inulinase enzyme was estimated at 66 KDa using SDS-PAGE and compare to TLC inulin hydrolysis showed mono and disaccharides as the main end products. The highest enzyme activity was obtained from Banana isolate KARE_B006, which showed exo-inulinase in SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis.