Sudhir Rai
Microbial proteases constitute approximately 60% of the total worldwide production of enzymes. They have diverse applications in a wide variety of industries, such as in detergent, food, pharmaceutical, leather, silk, and for recovery of silver from used X-ray films. Of these, alkaline proteases are particularly important because they are both stable and active at high pH solutions and in the presence of surfactants and oxidizing agents. Their major application is in the detergent industry because the pH of laundry detergents is generally in the range of 9.0-12.0. Isolation and screening of microorganisms from naturally occurring alkaline habitats are expected to provide novel strains capable of producing industrially important proteases that will retain its activity and stability in high alkaline conditions. Based on the above mention requirements, the present study was initiated with the objectives of isolation of high-titer alkaline protease producing bacteria by screening environmental samples of North East Indian states.
