PRODUCTION OF PROTEASE AND UREASE BY KEROSENE UTILIZING FLUORESCENT PSEUDOMONADS ISOLATED FROM LOCAL RED LATIRITE SOIL

Abstract

The present work relates to a simple, safe, and efficient process for the complete utilization of kerosene using fluorescent pseudomonads. Fluorescent pseudomonads used in this study were isolated from local red soil collected at Acharya Nagarjuna University Campus, Guntur Dt., (AP) India. The isolates were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas aureofaciens, Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas fluorescens on the basis of biochemical characteristics. The isolates were screened for their ability to grow on nutrient broth medium in presence of petroleum hydrocarbon (kerosene) and also utilization of kerosene as their sole source of carbon and energy. All the isolates showed maximum growth in medium with 6% kerosene concentration when tested with different concentrations of kerosene viz., 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%. The isolates were able to grow well on kerosene and subsequently produced the extracellular enzymes protease and urease at significant level compared with control (without kerosene). Plasmid profile of the isolates revealed that, all the four Pseudomonas isolates harbored two low molecular weight plasmids one with 3Kb size and the other with 10Kb to 12Kb size. Thus, these four Pseudomonas isolates exhibited high potential in utilizing kerosene and therefore useful for bioremediation of sites that contaminated with kerosene.