Identification and characterization of a highly alkaline and thermotolerant novel xylanase from Streptomyces sp.

Xylanases constitute an important industrial enzyme, which hydrolyzes the polysaccharide xylan. In this work, a novel Streptomyces strain producing cellulase-free xylanase was isolated from the soil samples collected from the mangrove forest of Kadalundi, Kerala, India. The strain produced unique enzyme, which exhibited optimal activity at pH 9.0 and tolerance up to pH 12.0. Media engineering was carried out to improve the enzyme production, which showed best enzyme production at 30°C, medium pH 9.0 and incubation time of 48 h. Enzyme was highly thermo-tolerant up to 70°C and alkaline tolerant. Partial gene amplification as well as partial purification of enzyme was carried out to characterize the enzyme. The unique features of the enzyme make it an ideal candidate for industrial application for paper and pulp industry.