Isolation and identification of protease-producing psychrotrophic bacteria from raw camel milk

Seventy strains of protease-producing psychrotrophic bacteria were isolated from raw camel milk produced in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Five genera were found to be gram positive; they were species of Bacillus, Corynebacterium, Micrococcus, Streptococcus and Staphylococcus. Four genera of gram-negative bacteria were identified as well; they were Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium, Acinetobacter and Aeromonas species. Gram-negative bacteria represented 82.9% of the total isolates, whereas gram-positive ones represented 17.7%. Pseudomonas were most frequently found with P. fluorescens being the most common species.