Isolation, Screening and Methionine Production by Bacillus species isolated from Poultry Waste

Abstract

The current study was focused on isolating and identifying methionine producing bacteria from poultry waste. The bacteria were isolated from poultry waste and the ones which specifically produced methionine on solid agar medium, using a methionine requiring auxotroph (Escherichia coli) were kept for further analysis. Methionine assay was also carried out after fermentation to quantify methionine produced by each isolate. A total of 10 bacteria were isolated of which 2 were confirmed as active methionine producers after halo growth was observed on the solid agar medium. These 2 isolates which produced higher amount of methionine were ultimately selected for further investigation. The methionine producing isolates which were designated PW1 and PW3 were identified as Bacillus sp. respectively after biochemical tests were carried out. The test carried out include; gram staining, motility test, catalase test, citrate test, hemolysis test, indole test, penicillin sensitivity, oxidase test and crystal colony formation. Where PW3 (Bacillus sp.) produced greater amount of methionine (0.54 mg/l), while PW1 (Bacillus sp.) produced 0.20 mg/l after the completion of the methionine assay. Keywords: Keywords: Methionine production, Bacillus species, poultry waste.