EXTRACELLULAR HYDROLASES OF HALOPHILIC MICROORGANISMS ISOLATED FROM HYPERSALINE ENVIRONMENTS (SALT MINE AND SALT LAKES)

This work aims to reveal the ability of halophilic microorganisms, both bacteria and archaea, isolated from salted lakes and salt crystals from the salt mine, to produce a wide range of extracellular hydrolytic enzymes able to degrade several macromolecular substrates, such as sugar based polymers or proteins. A relatively wide positive spectrum of extracellular hydrolases for tested substrates was recorded from archaeal and bacterial strains isolated from investigated salted area. The number appears to be higher if comparing isolates from salt lakes with isolates from salt crystal. In the case of tested halophilic bacteria were found enzymes capable of hydrolyzing starch, casein, Tween80 and carboxymethylcellulose. In the case of microorganisms belonging to the Archaea domain, identified on the surface of the crystal and belonging to Halorubrum genus was detected the ability to degrade starch and seldom Tween80. In some cases, a combined hydrolytic activity has been observed. One halophilic bacterial strain combined cellulase and esterase activities and other strains combined two or more hydrolytic activities. The enzymes degrading starch appear to have a wide distribution and when compared the 16S rRNA phylogeny distribution of investigated strains with the absence or presence of amylase activity, the data showed a very high correlation degree.