Isolation and screening of protease producing bacterial species

Bacteria are well known for their ability to excrete enzymes into the environment. This research aimed to isolate and to screen the potential bacterial isolates for protease production. Twenty three bacterial strains were procured from different sources and screened for protease production. Two protease producing isolates, Streptococcus sp. 1 and 2 were selected on the basis of casein hydrolyses by showing clear zones of 4.53 mm and 4.90 mm, respectively. When the proteases were examined using fermentation production medium, the data recorded the highest protease enzyme reached to 155 U mL^-1 by Steptococcus sp. 2. While Streptococcus sp. 5 and 6 showed minimum protease production by showing clear zone of 0.5 and 0.8 mm and enzyme activity 2.0 and 1.0 U mL^-1, respectively.