• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.135-142
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• 2011

A feather-degrading bacterium Elizabethkingia meningoseptica CS2-1 was isolated from compost in a chicken farm. Cultured on a basal medium containing 2% chicken feather, the bacterium showed 729.7 ${\mu}mol/mL$ of amino acid. Optimal culture conditions for feather degradation by E. meningoseptica CS2-1 were $25^{\circ}C$, pH 7.5, and 180 rpm. The optimal pH and temperature for protease activity were 8.0 and $40^{\circ}C$, respectively. The composition of an optimal medium for amino acid production was 0.05% NH4Cl, 0.05% NaCl, 0.03% $K_2HPO_4$, 0.03% $KH_2PO_4$, 0.01% $MgCl_2{\cdot}6H_2O$, 0.1% urea, and 2% chicken feather. Characteristics of amino acids extracted from the optimal medium under the optimal culture conditions of E. meningoseptica CS2-1 were analyzed. The total amino acid content of strain CS2-1 was 1063 ${\mu}mol/mL$, which was 46% higher compared to the basal condition (729.7 ${\mu}mol/mL$). The essential amino acid content in the total amino acid was 315.9 ${\mu}mol/mL$, which was 44% higher than that of the basal condition. Major amino acids were proline (14%), aspartic acid (12%), glutamic acid (11%), serine (10%), alanine (10%), glycine (9%), and tyrosine (7%) by strain CS2-1. These results suggest that strain CS2-1 can be used as a potential microbial resource for the production of amino acid using chicken feathers.