Biodegradation of Keratin Waste by Bacillus velezensis HFS_F2 through Optimized Keratinase Production Medium

Enormous aggregates of keratinous wastes are produced annually by the poultry and leather industries which cause environmental degradation globally. To combat this issue, microbially synthesized extracellular proteases known as keratinase are used widely which is effective in degrading keratin found in hair and feathers. In the present work, keratinolytic bacteria were isolated from poultry farm soil and feather waste, and various cultural conditions were optimized to provide the highest enzyme production for efficient keratin waste degradation. Based on the primary and secondary screening methods, the potent keratinolytic strain (HFS_F2^T) with the highest enzyme activity 32.65 ± 0.16 U/mL was genotypically characterized by 16S rRNA sequencing and was confirmed as Bacillus velezensis HFS_F2^T ON556508. Through one-variable-at-a-time approach (OVAT), the keratinase production medium was optimized with sucrose (carbon source), beef extract (nitrogen source) pH-7, inoculum size (5%), and incubation at 37 °C). The degree of degradation (%DD) of keratin wastes was evaluated after 35 days of degradation in the optimized keratinase production medium devoid of feather meal under submerged fermentation conditions. Further, the deteriorated keratin wastes were visually examined and the hydrolysed bovine hair with 77.32 ± 0.32% degradation was morphologically analysed through Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) to confirm the structural disintegration of the cuticle. Therefore, the current study would be a convincing strategy for reducing the detrimental impact of pollutants from the poultry and leather industries by efficient keratin waste degradation through the production of microbial keratinase.