Effect of different carbon sources on the production of amylase by Bacillus sp. MD 124.

An extracellular, thermostable salt tolerant amylase has been obtained from Bacillus sp. MD 124 which was previously isolated from municipal garbage. Among the carbon sources used for amylase production, rhamnose, starch, glucose, lactose, galactose, maltose and sucrose favoured enzyme production whereas sorbose suppressed the enzyme production. Maximum amount of enzyme (15 unit/ml culture broth) was produced after 24 h of incubation at 45 degrees C in the medium containing 0.5% starch, at pH 6.5. The effect of temperature, pH as well as effect of metal ions on enzyme activity was also studied.