Extracellular cold-active lipase of Microbacterium luteolum isolated from Gangotri glacier, western Himalaya: Isolation, partial purification and characterization

A psychrophilic bacterium producing cold-active lipase upon growth at low temperature was isolated from the soil samples of Gangotri glacier and identified as Microbacterium luteolum. The bacterial strain produced maximum lipase at 15 °C, at a pH of 8.0. Beef extract served as the best organic nitrogen source and ammonium nitrate as inorganic for maximum lipase production. Castor oil served as an inducer and glucose served as an additional carbon source for production of cold-active lipase. Ferric chloride as additional mineral salt in the medium, highly influenced the lipase production with an activity of 8.01 U ml−1. The cold-active lipase was purified to 35.64-fold by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. It showed maximum activity at 5 °C and thermostability up to 35 °C. The purified lipase was stable between pH 5 and 9 and the optimal pH for enzymatic hydrolysis was 8.0. Lipase activity was stimulated in presence of all the solvents (5%) tested except with acetonitrile. Lipase activity was inhibited in presence of Mn2+, Cu2+, and Hg2+; whereas Fe+, Na+ did not have any inhibitory effect on the enzyme activity. The purified lipase was stable in the presence of SDS; however, EDTA and dithiothreitol inhibited enzyme activity. Presence of Ca2+ along with inhibitors stabilized lipase activity. The cold active lipase thus exhibiting activity and stability at a low temperature and alkaline pH appears to be practically useful in industrial applications especially in detergent formulations.