Extra cellular hydrolytic enzyme secretion in Bacillus thuringiensis H14 & B. sphaericus & their significance in media design.

Level of extracellular proteolytic and amylolytic enzyme production was determined to assess the ability of these strains in utilizing complex carbon and nitrogen sources. Protease secretion reached maximum at around 12th h of growth in case of all the three B. thuringiensis strains and declined sharply thereafter. In B. sphaericus strains the protease level gradually increased and reached maximum at around 24th h of growth. Amylase activity was not detectable in the culture supernatants of B. sphaericus strains whereas all the three B. thuringiensis strains tested showed significant amount of amylase activity.