Dachigam National Park. Credit: Hina Mushtaq
Analysis reveals a unique diversity of soil bacteria in Dachigam National Park, located in the Zabarwan Mountains of Kashmir1. Its soil has been found to harbour 57 distinct bacterial species that can be cultured.
Many of these secrete hydrolytic enzymes such as protease and lipase that can be used commercially as detergent additives and waste-degrading agents, say researchers at the University of Kashmir in Srinagar.
In recent years, the park has attracted attention for its threatened animal species and endemic plants, but the microbial diversity of its soil has remained largely unexplored. So scientists, led by Arshid Jehangir and Bashir Ahmad Ganai, analysed soil samples from grassland, riverine, oak, small tree and mixed pine sites in the park.
The team, which included Hina Mushtaq, detected 92 strains of cultivable bacteria. Of these, 39 produced protease enzymes and 49 churned out lipase enzymes. Bacterial species diversity was highest in the grasslands and lowest in mixed pine sites. The diversity of soil bacteria also varied inversely with altitude.
The researchers found that rod-shaped bacteria outnumbered spherical-shaped bacteria, and of these bacteria such as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens HM48 and Bacillus velezensis HM49 exhibited potent heat-stable and cold-adapted protein-degrading activities.
Cold-adaptive protease enzyme isolated from a rod-shaped bacterium was found to effectively remove protein-based stains at 20°C2. This property could be useful for making eco-friendly detergent additives for fine garments, such as silk, which need cold washing.
The enzymes also made chicken feathers disintegrate, which suggests a potential use in feather waste management.
