Screening for extracellular enzyme activities by bacteria isolated from samples collected in the Tyrrhenian Sea

Ninety-five bacterial isolates, obtained in pure cultures from samples collected in various sites of the East sector of the Tyrrhenian Sea, were plate-screened for their ability to produce twelve extracellular enzyme activities in order to find new strains for possible applications. Lipases, DNAase and RNAase were generally present; amilase, phosphatase, pectinase and protease were common. Chitinase and urease were present in a limited number of isolates while glucose oxidase and phenol oxidase were quite rare. Few isolates, producing a limited number of enzymes, could have a low eco-nutritional versatility while most of them, showing a diversified enzymatic competence, are probably more advantaged in the marine environment. However, none of the isolates was able to produce all the tested activities. Few strains (14) showed apparent high level of some extracellular enzyme activities and could be considered as potential high-producers.