Bacterial Strain Isolated from High-Salt Environments Can Produce Large Amounts of New Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA)

Abstract

Since the major problem connected to the industrial production of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) is their high production price, this study was performed to inspect the new potential bacterial species for industrial PHA production. The bacterial samples were collected during a screening program from Pink Salt Lake as an extreme environment in the south of Iran, Fars province. The PHA-producing bacteria were isolated. Then further studies on different morphological, cultural, and physiological characteristics of isolates were performed. Among the isolated microorganisms in this study, 18 of 143 bacteria were selected as PHA-producer microorganisms to be studied for analysis along with a partial sequence of the 16S rRNA gene. This study introduces two bacteria; Bacillus endophyticus BCCS 011 and Lysobacter sp. BCCS 052 as new potential PHA producer that has not been reported previously. They could be an ideal option for cheaper PHAs production.