Microbial enzymes are often more useful than enzymes derived from plants or animals because of their catalytic activities, the possibility of high yields, selleck chemical ease of genetic manipulation,

regular supply due to absence of seasonal fluctuations and rapid growth of microorganisms with inexpensive media.1 and 2 Among microbial enzymes, lipase has been studied extensively.3 The estimated worldwide sales volume for industrial enzymes in 1995 is US$1 billion and this volume is foreseen to double until 2005.4 At least 75% of these enzymes are hydrolases and 90% of them are produced from microorganisms by fermentation. Following proteases and carbohydrases, lipases are considered to be the third largest group based on total sales volume. Nearly 100 years ago, a microbiologist C Eijkmann reported that several bacteria could produce and secrete lipases. Bacterial lipases received much attention for their substrate specificity and their ability to function in extreme environments. Bacterial lipases are mostly extracellular and are greatly influenced by nutritional GSK2118436 chemical structure as well as physicochemical factors such as temperature, pH, nitrogen, carbon sources, inorganic salts, agitation and dissolved oxygen concentration.5 Lipases-EC3.1.1.3 represent an important group of biotechnologically valuable enzymes,6, 7 and 8 as it can act both in

aqueous and non aqueous solvent systems. They are widely distributed in nature, diversified in their properties, therefore it is important to characterize them.9, 10 and 11 Currently, bacterial lipases are of great demand because of potential applications in various industries like cosmetic, food, detergent, paper and pharmaceutical industries.12, 13, 14 and 15 The present paper too focussed on screening, isolation, identification of bacteria and optimization of different parameters for the

enzyme production. Bacteria was isolated from oil contaminated soil sample at Salem District. Serial dilution was performed to isolate the lipase producing organism.16 Lipase producing strain was screened by incubating them on selective Rhodamine B agar medium17 for 3 days. Lipase production was detected by irradiating the plates with UV light at 350 nm. Bacterial colonies showing orange fluorescent halo was sent to Microbial Type Culture Collection, Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh, India, for morphological, biochemical analysis and 16s rRNA sequencing. Basal mineral medium was prepared.18 Composition of basal mineral medium used in this study composed of the following in g/100 ml: (NH4)2SO4: 0.5, NaNO3: 0.05; K2HPO4: 0.1, KH2PO4: 0.05; KCl: 0.1; MgSO4.7H2O: 0.03, CaCO3: 0.05, Yeast extract: 1. The medium was supplemented with 0.05 ml of trace elements solution with the following composition in g/l: H3BO3: 0.26; CuSO4.5H2O: 0.5; MnSO4.H2O: 0.5; MONa2O4.2H2O: 0.06; ZnSo4.7H20: 0.7.