CHARACTERIZATION OF SNAKE SCAT FLORA FOR PRODUCTION OF PROTEASE, KERATINASE AND ESTERASE ENZYMES

Snakes are reptiles found in diverse geographical conditions and are known to ingest their prey lacking the step of chewing. The indiginous microbiota of snake must be elevating its digestive efficiency through secretion of various enzymes which may prove significant for industrial applications as well. In present study, scat samples of 12 snakes were collected from Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, Katraj, Pune for isolation of snake scat flora. Samples were spread plated on nutrient agar, trypticase soya agar, yeast peptone dextrose agar, brain heart infusion agar, salmonella shigella agar and ravan agar. 371 morphologically distinct isolates were obtained and screened qualitatively for protease, keratinase and esterase using skim milk agar, feather meal agar and tributyrin agar respectively. Among the isolates, 46% were positive for protease, 22% were positive for keratinase and maximum isolates i.e. 85%, were positive for esterase. 20% of total isolates showed production of all three enzymes. The first five isolates showing largest zone of clearance in qualitative assays were characterized quantitatively for protease and keratinase. Results obtained indicate that snake scat flora is a large untapped reservoir of industrially important microbial enzymes and can be a potential resource for degradation of animal tissue waste generated from slaughter house and poultry industries.