Identification and characterization of alkaline protease producing Bacillus firmus species EMBS023 by 16S rRNA gene sequencing

Probiotic microorganisms are those which exert a positive e®ect on the growth of the host, when administered as a dietary mixture in an adequate amount. They form the best alternative to the use of antibiotics for controlling enteric diseases in poultry farm animals, especially in the light of the gruesome problems of development of antibiotic resistance in enteric pathogens and the contamination of poultry products with antibiotics. 16S rDNA sequencing which has gained wide popularity amongst microbiologists for the molecular characterization and identification of newly discovered isolates provides accurate identification of isolates down to the level of sub-species (strain). It’s most important advantage over the traditional biochemical characterization methods are that it can provide an accurate identification of strains with atypical phenotypic characters as well. The following work is an application of 16S rRNA gene sequencing approach to identify a novel, alkaline protease producing bacteria, from poultry farm waste. The sample was collected from a local poultry farm in the Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Subsequently the sample was serially diluted and the aliquots were incubated for a suitable time period following which the suspected colony was subjected to 16S rDNA sequencing. The results showed the isolate to be a novel, high alkaline protease producing bacteria, which was named Bacillus firmus isolate EMBS023, after characterization the sequence of isolate was deposited in GenBank with accession number JN990980.