Isolation, Characterization and Screening for Fiber Hydrolytic Enzymes-Producing Streptomycetes of Jordanian Forest Soils

There is considerable interest in different fiber hydrolytic enzymes such as cellulases, xylanases and pectinases for their potential applications in the paper, food and feed industries. Therefore, this study aimed to screen for soil streptomycetes producing such enzymes and characterize them. A total of 110 isolates of streptomycetes were recovered from 15 soil samples collected from three regions of Ajlun forests in northern Jordan then screened for their ability to produce cellulase, pectinase and xylanase enzymes by observing the clear zones around the colonies on cellulose, pectin and xylan agar media, respectively. Data showed that 79% of the isolates were able to produce at least one of the enzymes with cellulase being the highest (71.8%). Thirty five isolates (32%) were able to produce the three enzymes with 24 of them were characterized morphologically and physiologically as Streptomyces. RAPD DNA analysis has been used to determine the relatedness of 11 active isolates based on their RAPD-PCR fingerprints. Genetic polymorphisms between these active isolates showed two common bands of 500 and 800 pb shared by approximately (90%) of them.