ABSTRACT:
Objectives: To isolate and screen the poly hydroxybutyrate (PHB) producing bacteria from Jeppiaar Salt Pane, Chennai. Methods: In the present study the salt pane bacteria were isolated by the serial dilution method using nutrient agar containing 5% NaCl. The potential PHB producers were identified by both Nile blue staining and viable colony screening methods. The PHB production was checked and was extracted by following sodium hypochlorite-chloroform method. The PHB production capability was compared between the two isolates by estimate the percentage of PHB production. Results: Twenty morphologically different bacteria were isolated from a sample collected from Jeppiaar Salt Pane, Chennai. Three potential PHB producers were identified by both Nile blue staining and viable colony screening methods. The isolate AJ11, AJ10, AJ8 were produced 0.225, 0.210, 0.125g/100ml of PHB respectively. The percentage of PHB production was high for the isolate AJ11 (81.8%), AJ10 (72.4%) and minimum production observed for the isolate AJ8 was (43.7%). Conclusion: This screening study for the PHB producers from the salt pane water sample harbouring more suitable isolates with efficient PHB production, the application of PHB in different fields has to be studied further.