A process for complete biodegradation of shrimp waste by a novel marine isolate Paenibacillus sp. AD with simultaneous production of chitinase and chitin oligosaccharides.

Disposal of chitinaceous waste is a major problem of seafood industry. Most of the known chitinolytic organisms have been studied with respect to pure chitin as substrate. Use of these organisms for degradation of seafood waste has not been explored much. In present study a marine bacterium capable of proficiently degrading shrimp waste with co-production of value added products like chitinase and chitin oligosaccharides was isolated from seafood waste dumping sites. On 16s rRNA and biochemical analysis bacterium was found to be a novel species of genus Paenibacillus.Under optimized condition complete shrimp waste degradation (99%) was achieved along with chitinase yield of 20.01 IUml-1. SEM and FTIR showed the structural changes and breakage of bonds typical to that of chitin, which indicated that this process can be used for the degradation of other chitinaceous material also. Thin layer chromatography revealed the presence of chitin oligosaccharides of various degree of polymerization in the hydrolysate. Complete degradation of shrimp waste by Paenibacillus sp. AD makes it a potential candidate for the bioremediation of seafood waste at large scale. Concomitant production of chitinase and chitin oligosaccharides further makes the process economical and commercially viable.