Extraction, Purification and Characterization of Thermostable, Alkaline Tolerant α-Amylase from Bacillus cereus.

Thermostable alkaline α-amylase producing bacterium Bacilluscereus strain isolated from Cuddalore harbour waters grew maximally in both shake flask and fermentor, and produced α-amylase at 35°C, pH 7.5 and 1.0% of substrate concentrations. α-Amylase activity was maximum at 65°C, pH 8.0, 89% of its activity was sustained even at pH 11.0. Added with MnCl(2,) α-amylase activity showed 4% increase but it was inhibited by EDTA. The molecular weight of the purified α-amylase is 42 kDa.