Keratinolytic enzyme-mediated biodegradation of recalcitrant feather by a newly isolated Xanthomonas sp. P5

• Published in: Polymer degradation and stability Vol. 95; no. 10; pp. 1969 - 1977
• Main Authors: Jeong, Jin-Ha, Park, Ki-Hyun, Oh, Dong-Joo, Hwang, Dae-Youn, Kim, Hong-Sung, Lee, Chung-Yeol, Son, Hong-Joo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Amino acids; Biological and medical sciences; Biology of microorganisms of confirmed or potential industrial interest; Biotechnology; Culture; Degradation; Enzymes; Feather degradation; Feathers; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Keratinase; Methionine; Miscellaneous; Mission oriented research; Plants (organisms); Strain; Sulfitolysis; Xanthomonas; Xanthomonas sp; Keratinase; Feather degradation; Sulfitolysis; Xanthomonas sp; Pseudomonadales; Enzyme; Poultry by product; Experimental study; Xanthomonas; Keratin; Peptidases; Antifungal agent; Enzymatic activity; Enzymatic digestion; Animal protein; Bacteria; Hydrolases; Pseudomonadaceae; Isolation; Feather; Plant growth substance; Animal waste
• ISSN: 0141-3910; 1873-2321
• DOI: 10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2010.07.020

We isolated and characterized a novel feather-degrading Xanthomonas sp. P5 with keratinolytic activity. In improved medium containing 0.1% (w/v) feather, maximal keratinolytic activity was observed at 5 days (69.0 ± 0.6 U/mL). This value was 7.1-fold higher than the yield in basal feather medium. The strain P5 degraded feather completely after 7 days. Feather degradation resulted in free thiol group, soluble protein and amino acids formation, indicating that sulfitolysis and proteolysis may be responsible for feather degradation by the strain P5. Total free amino acid concentration in the cell-free supernatant was around 188.6 μM. Asparagine, methionine, histidine and threonine were the major amino acids released in the culture. Xanthomonas sp. P5 exhibited multiple plant growth-promoting attributes such as siderophore, indoleacetic acid, ammonia, hydrolytic enzyme and antifungal activity. Our results indicate that Xanthomonas sp. P5 could be not only used to upgrade the nutritional value of recalcitrant feather waste but is also a potential candidate for the development of biofertilizer or biocontrol agent applicable to crop plant soil.