Isolation and Characterization of Protase Producing Strain Isolated from Termite Moth and Oily Soil from Mechanic Workshop

enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of peptide bonds in proteins and polypeptide.
Protease enzymes are ubiquitous in occurrence, being found in all living organisms
and are essential for cell growth and differentiation. Protease enzyme can be
produced from animal, plants and microbial sources.
This study investigates the production of protease using microbial isolates from
termite moth and oily sand samples. The aim of this study was to determine
protease producing potentials of bacterial isolated from termite moth and oily sand.
A ten-fold dilution was adopted in this study after which primary screening of
bacterial isolates was made to screen alkaline protease producers from this study.
The result obtained showed that termite moth plate one and two had the highest
colony count of 132 and 95 compared to oily sand which had a count of 97 and 66.
These results from the colony count showed that termite moth has a more specific
potential to promote the growth of bacteria that can produce protease enzyme
because it has the highest colony count compared to oily sand.
Bacterial production of protease enzyme has significant application in industries
such as pharmaceuticals, agriculture, food processing, leather treatment and
detergent production.
This study concluded that understanding the mechanism of protease synthesis and
regulation in bacteria can lead to improved industrial application and novel
therapeutic options.