Isolation and Screening of Pectinolytic Bacterial Strains using Rotten Apples from Lahore, Pakistan

Pectinases are pectin degrading enzymes predominantly used as biocatalysts in various industries such as wine extraction, fruit juice extraction, and making of paper pulp. Large scale production of pectinases using biological systems (bacteria, fungi, plants) is a common method used in the industry. In the current study, different bacterial isolates obtained from rotten apples were used for pectinase production and their pectinolytic activity was investigated. Five bacterial strains were isolated on the growth medium containing 0.3% KH2PO4, 0.6% Na2HPO4, 0.2% NH4Cl, 0.5% NaCl, 1% Pectin, 1.5% Agar, 1mM CaCl2, and 10mM MgSO4. The isolates of five samples A, B, C, D and E were then biochemically characterized as Serratia marcescens, Klebseilla pneumoniea, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli, respectively. They were also identified at the molecular level through 16S rRNA gene sequencing.