DETERMINATION OF HYDROLYTIC ENZYME CAPABILITIES OF HALOPHILIC ARCHAEA ISOLATED FROM HIDES AND SKINS AND THEIR PHENOTYPIC AND PHYLOGENETIC IDENTIFICATION

This research aims to isolate extremely halophilic archaea from salted hides, to determine the capacities of their hydrolytic enzymes, and to identify them by using phenotypic and molecular methods. Domestic and imported salted hide and skin samples obtained from eight different sources were used as the research material. 186 extremely halophilic microorganisms were isolated from salted raw hides and skins. Some biochemical, antibiotic sensitivity, pH, NaCl, temperature tolerance and quantitative and qualitative hydrolytic enzyme tests were performed on these isolates. In our study, taking into account the phenotypic findings of the research, 34 of 186 isolates were selected. These isolates were identified by 16S rRNA sequence analysis and 15 different strains of extreme halophilic archaea were identified. 13 strains of these were identified for first time from salted raw hide and skin in our study including Natrialba aegyptia, Halococcus thailandensis, Halococcus dombrowskii, Halovivax asiaticus, Halovivax sp. E107, Haloarchaeon, Natronococcus sp., Halorubrum sp., Halomicrobium zhouii, Natronococcus jeotgali, Halo terrigena thermotolerans, Natrinema versiforme, Halobacterium noricense. At the same time detecting Natrialba aegyptia in 6 of 8 hide samples showed that this strain is widely found in hide and skin samples. Research results are expected to contribute to other studies and solving microbial problems in leather industry.