Screening of Protease-Producing Bacterium in Facultative Anaerobic Conditions, Studies on Its Enzymatic Characterization and Application for Fermenting Soybean Meal
An efficient protease--producing and facultative anaerobic bacterium B-1 was isolated from naturally fermented Douchi by transparent inhibition zone plate assay.The diameter of inhibition zones in anaerobic conditions was found to be bigger than in aerobic conditions.Based on physiological and biochemical identification and 16S rRNA sequence analysis,it was identified as Bacillus methylotrophicus.Meanwhile,this study revealed that the optimal pH and temperature for protease activity and stability from Bacillus methylotrophicus B-1 were pH 7.0 and 40 ℃,respectively.The protease activity was activated by Mn2+.In addition,Bacillus methylotrophicus B-1 and Bacillus subtilis A-12 were used at an inoculum size of 6% on raw soybean meal to study the effect of fermentation on the contents of crude protein and small peptides and hydrolysis degree.The results showed that the content of small peptides and hydrolysis degree of soybean meal fermented by Bacillus methylotrophicus B-1 were 28.37% and 29.55%,which were 9.04% and 16.07% higher than those of that fermented by Bacillus subtilis A-12,and 27.22% and 29.13% higher than those of raw soybean meal,respectively.