Abstract:
Starch is the most abundant storage polysaccharide of plants and the chief source of
carbohydrates for humans and is therefore of considerable economic importance. The
polysaccharide is deposited plants in the form of small insoluble particles called starch
granules. They consist of chains of glucose molecules which are linked together by alpha-1,
4- and alpha-1, 6- glycosidic bonds giving rise to amylose and amylopectin respectively when
hydrolyzed. Amylases are starch degrading enzymes obtained from several sources such as
plants animals and microorganisms that have great significance in present day biotechnology.
These enzymes have wide area of potential application including food processing, animal
nutrition, beverage production, pharmaceutical, textile, detergent, paper and pulp, biofuel
industries. Their applicability has been expanding due to the increasing interest in using agro
industrial residues as substrates associated with the development of solid state fermentation
technology. Starch is a very abundant and renewable feedstock and the need for minimizing
the extent of environmental pollution. Availability of starch degrading microorganisms
particularly bacteria serve as a resourceful alternative in the production of biofuel. Ability to
degrade starch is used as a criterion for the determination of amylase production by a
microorganism. The project involved carrying out various tests to determine morphological
and biochemical characteristics, process optimization for amylase production that is, the
carbon source, organic and inorganic nitrogen sources, pH and temperature. From the study
six bacterial isolates were obtained namely J1, J2, J3, J4, J5 and J6. They belong to Bacillus
genus based on the gram staining and appearance.
