Efficient Keratinolysis of Poultry Feather Waste by the Halotolerant Keratinase from Salicola Marasensis

authors:

avatar Nika Khoshnevis 1 , avatar Shahla Rezaei 1 , avatar Hamid Forootanfar 2 , avatar Mohammad Ali Faramarzi 1 , *

Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

how to cite: Khoshnevis N, Rezaei S, Forootanfar H, Faramarzi M A. Efficient Keratinolysis of Poultry Feather Waste by the Halotolerant Keratinase from Salicola Marasensis. Iran J Pharm Res. 2019;18(4):e127856. https://doi.org/10.22037/ijpr.2019.111710.13312.

Abstract

Sustainable development in the bio-treatment of large-scale biomass bulks requires high performance enzymes adapted to extreme conditions. An extracellular keratinolytic extract was obtained from the culture broth of a halotolerant strain of Salicola marasensis. Keratin hydrolyzing activity of the concentrated enzyme extract was observed on a 100 mg of pretreated feather waste. The concentrated enzyme was able to hydrolyze the poultry feathers by 25% after 12 h incubation. The bio-waste material was optimally hydrolyzed at pH 9 and temperature of 40 °C. Among reductants, 1,4-dithiothreitol, L-cysteine, 2-mercaptoethanol, glutathione, and sodium sulfate showed the most remarkable effect on the bio-waste keratinolysis, while the tested surfactants and urea had no significant effect on the keratinolytic activity. Hexane and hexadecane indicated strong effect on keratinase activity and bio-treatment in the presence of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF6]) as a hydrophobic ionic liquid resulted in a maximal of 80% extraction yield of soluble proteins from feathers. Considering the stability of the extracellular keratinolytic content in [BMIM][PF6], the observed keratinase activity was noteworthy suggesting that the secreted enzyme may contribute to the bioconversion of feather wastes.