Extracellular hydrolytic enzymes produced by halophilic bacteria and archaea isolated from hypersaline lake.

The screening of bacteria and archaea from Chott El Jerid, a hypersaline lake in the south of Tunisia, led to the isolation of 68 extremely halophilic prokaryotes growing in media with 15-25% of salt. Assessment of 68 partial 16S rRNA analyzed by amplified rDNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) revealed 15 different bacterial and archaeal taxonomic groups. Based on ARDRA results, phenotypic and hydrolytic activity tests, 20 archaeal and 6 bacterial isolates were selected for sequencing. The halophilic isolates were identified as members of the genera: Salicola, Bacillus, Halorubrum, Natrinema and Haloterrigena. Most of these isolates are able to produce hydrolytic enzymes such as amylase, protease, lipase, cellulase, xylanase, pectinase and some of them showed combined activities. Natrinema genus is an excellent candidate for lipase production. These results indicated that the extremely halophilic archaea and bacteria from Chott El Jerid are a potential source of hydrolytic enzymes and may possess commercial value.