Abstract:
One of the eye catching subjects in the scientific community is environmental friendly and economic production of
bioplastics [Poly β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB)]. Most of the research on PHB using microbes has been directed towards the
processes which are costly. However, PHB productions from Halophilic Archaea which are extremophiles have been
completely overlooked. Halophilic archaea offer certain advantages as requiring non sterile conditions for growth which makes
the process completely cost effective. The present work aims at PHB production by halophilic archaea with optimization of the
enzymes β-ketothiolase as primary precursor of PHB production. Amongst the three key enzymes for PHB biosynthesis, β ketothiolase is a primary enzyme required for PHB synthesis. The information on β-ketothiolase from the archaeal domain,
especially from Haloarchaea, is very sparse. Hence the present study is directed towards detection of β-kethiolase from
Haloarcula sp. 1., and its optimization. Optimization has been carried out by using fifteen different parameters. As a result of optimization, maximum enzyme activity (0.047EU/ml) was exhibited by Haloarcula sp. 1., Which is also the maximum PHB
producer.
