ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A HIGHLY THERMOSTABLE LPHA-AMYLASE ENZYME PRODUCED BY BACILLUS LICHENIFORMIS

Bacterial amylases play an important role in industrial production and contribute significantly to meet our commercial needs in a variety of ways. the present study was designed to report the isolation, identification and characterization of a thermostable α-amylase enzyme produced from a bacterium isolated from indigenous soil samples. the isolated bacterium was identified as bacillus licheniformis and confirmed through a variety of morphological, biochemical and hydrolysis based tests. the isolated bacterium was cultured in amylase producing media and found to produce α-amylase at the rate of 92 u/ml after 24 h cultivation at ph 7.0 and at 100°c. enzyme induction was found to be the highest utilizing potato starch followed by corn and wheat. the characterization of α-amylase was done to establish its suitability for industrial applications in starch processing and food manufacturing industries among others.