Microbial keratinases for recycling poultry feathers

The outer coverings in vertebrates consists of one of the most important structural protein called Keratin. On the basis of structure, Keratin is divided into two types: alpha keratin that consists of alpha helices and beta keratin that consists of beta pleated sheets. Most of the keratinous mat

Project Title

Microbial keratinases for recycling poultry feathers

Project Area of Specialization

Biomedical Engineering

Project Summary

The outer coverings in vertebrates consists of one of the most important structural protein called Keratin. On the basis of structure, Keratin is divided into two types: alpha
keratin that consists of alpha helices and beta keratin that consists of beta pleated sheets. Most of the keratinous materials possess both types of keratins. Due to the
presence of hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic interactions and high concentration of cysteine that leads to disulphide bonds, it is considered one of the most difficult polymer to degrade in the nature and show resistant to many physical, chemical and biological agents.
Keratin waste is a threat to the environment in the form of feathers, hair, horns, hooves and nails which is mainly produced by the leather industries, wool industries, poultry
farms, and slaughter houses.
The main component of keratin waste is keratin protein. The Keratin waste around the world are mostly dumped, landfilled or treated with physical and chemical methods that are not favorable to the environment and leads to pollution. Discarded feathers from poultry farms also causes human diseases include cholera, mycoplasmosis and
fowl cholera. So innovative techniques and solution are so important for the treatment of such wastes and one such solution is use of keratinases. Keratinases are produced
by microorganisms and belongs from the group of proteases and exhibits wide range of temperature and pH range. Keratinase allows the degradation of Keratin protein. Microbial degradation of keratin waste is of immense importance because it is cost-effective and environmental friendly.
 

Project Objectives

• To isolate keratinase producing bacteria from soil
• To identify the isolated bacterial strains using colony morphology, microscopy and biochemical characteristics
• To precipitate  crude keratinase from bacterial culture

Project Implementation Method

Sample Collection

Soil sample will be collected from 2-3 cm in depth and will be directly transferred to Laboratory in sterile Falcon tubes 

Isolation will be done by using serial dilutions and plating method using skim milk agar plates. On the basis of zone hydrolysis, the strains will be selected for further study

Isolation of Keratinase producing bacteria
The bacterial strain showing maximum zone hydrolysis will be inoculated with Keratin substrate added to the mineral medium in flask as sole carbon and nitrogen source. Keratinase positive bacterial strain will be identified as a result

Characterization of Keratinase Producing Bacteria

Keratinase positive bacteria will be characterized through colony morphology, microscopy  and biochemical analysis

Determination of Enzyme activity
The enzyme activity will be determine using keratin digestion method
One unit (U/ml) of enzyme activity is defined an increase of absorbance of 0.01 at 280nm (A280) per minute under the assay condition calculated by the following equation.

                          U= X * n * A280 / ( 0.01 * 10)
where n is the dilution factor; X is the final reaction volume (ml); 10 is the incubation time

Enzyme Precipitation
The enzyme precipitation will be carried out using salting out method through ammonium sulphate

 

Benefits of the Project

• Keratinase helps Keratin waste conversion to valueable polypeptide and aminoacids that can be used as animal feed and organic fertilizers, thus reducing the pollution and cleaning environment
• Keratinase can also be used in medicine industry. It can improve the drug permeaability in keratin resulting effective skin external medicine

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

Acheiving crude keratinase enzyme in lyophilized  form that will be used for commercial purposes.

Final Deliverable of the Project

Hardware System

Core Industry

Health

Other Industries

Others

Core Technology

Others

Other Technologies

Sustainable Development Goals

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Required Resources

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