title: Discovery of keratinases using bacteria isolated from marine environments.
abstract: Bacteria are important for the biodegradation of keratin. Thus, a workflow to isolate keratin-degrading bacteria utilizing an optimized azo-keratin assay was established. Deteriorated feather samples, collected in marine shoreline environments from the intertidal zone, yielded 50 unique bacterial isolates exhibiting keratin degradation when feather meal was supplied as keratin substrate. The majority of isolates, identified by 16S sequencing, belonged to genera previously reported to produce keratinases: Bacillus spp. (42%) and Stenotrophomonas spp. (40%). The remaining 18% represented the genera Alcaligenes, Chryseobacterium, Salinivibrio, Delftia, Stappia, and Microbacterium, genera not previously been associated with keratinase production. The workflow, also applied to 21 Bacilli from our in-house culture collection, additionally revealed four Bacilli with remarkable feather degradation potential. The industrial applicability of their associated keratinases was evaluated and the most active keratinase expressed in E. coli to confirm keratinase expression. Enriched keratinase fractions demonstrated activity up to 75°C and retained viability when stored lyophilized at 20°C for up to 200d.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PEI C1A 4P3, Canada; Nautilus Biosciences Canada, Duffy Research Center (NRC-INH) , 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PEI C1A 4P3, Canada.
authors.forename: Bastian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Herzog
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PEI C1A 4P3, Canada; Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PEI C1A 4P3, Canada; Nautilus Biosciences Canada, Duffy Research Center (NRC-INH) , 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PEI C1A 4P3, Canada.
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Overy
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PEI C1A 4P3, Canada; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PEI C1A 4P3, Canada; Nautilus Biosciences Canada, Duffy Research Center (NRC-INH) , 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PEI C1A 4P3, Canada.
authors.forename: Bradley
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Haltli
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PEI C1A 4P3, Canada; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PEI C1A 4P3, Canada; Nautilus Biosciences Canada, Duffy Research Center (NRC-INH) , 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PEI C1A 4P3, Canada. Electronic address: rkerr@upei.ca.
authors.forename: Russell G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Kerr
mesh_terms: D000421:Alcaligenes / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D001407:Bacillus / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D045247:Chryseobacterium / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D042742:Delftia / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D005241:Feathers / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D007633:Keratins / Q000378:metabolism; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism*; D020588:Stenotrophomonas / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D007633:Keratins; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases; C035855:keratinase
keywords: Azo-keratin; Biodegradation; Environmental isolates; Feather meal; Industrial enzymes