Shomini Parashar

“Isolation and characterization of an agarase-producing bacterium from soil”

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Agar is extracted from red seaweeds belonging to the family Rhodophyceae, mainly from Gelidium and Gracilaria species. It is an important gelifying agent for biochemical use and in the food industry. Agar is composed of two principal components; agarose (70%) and agaropectin (30%). Agarose is the gelling component and comprises a linear chain of alternating 3-O-linked-a-D-galactopyranose and 4-O-linked 3, 6-anhydro- b-L-galactopyranose (Duckworth & Turvey 1969). The oxidative metabolism of agar in microorganisms is governed by the principle that this substrate will be used as a source of carbon and/or energy. The agar must be degraded in such a way that the intermediates formed can be funneled into the energy-yielding primary metabolism of the organism. Several genera of agarase-producing bacteria that degrade and utilize agar have been isolated. Agarolytic bacteria are divided in to two groups according to their effect on solid agar. Bacteria in group I soften the agar, forming depressions around the colonies, while, those in group II cause extensive liquefication of the agar (Leon et al. 1992).