Journal of Coastal Zone Management

Abstract

Optimization of Bacillus Sp. K29-14 Chitinase Production using Marine Crustacean Waste

Agustinus Robert Uria, Ekowati Chasanah, and Yusro Nuri Fawzya

Chitin is present in large quantities in the marine crustacean waste disposed by seafood processing
industries, making it very desirable as the substrate for producing chitinase, a hydrolytic enzyme of
considerable interest in many industrial and agricultural applications. In our work, crustacean waste
powder and its combination with colloidal chitin at different concentrations (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5%) were
utilized to optimize the chitinase production by the bacterium, Bacillus sp. K29-14. The results showed
that the chitinase production with the three different substrate concentrations was relatively constant in
the range of 0.2 to 0.3 U/ml during 12 days cultivation, although there was a bit reduction after day 8.
This activity profile seems to be similar to that of the protein content. Whereas the chitinase production
on the media containing crustacean waste powder and its combination with colloidal chitin at the three
concentrations showed that the highest activity (3.0 to 4.6 U/ml) was achieved on day 7 and 8. The
specific chitinase activity with the waste powder at different concentrations of substrate (0.5, 1.0 and
1.5%) was increasing slowly during a nine-day cultivation. The optimal chitinase production (4.6 U/ml)
was achieved with the combined substrate of 0.5% on day 8.