Isolation and characterization of Bacillus spp. with high-level productivity of poly-γ-glutamic acid

Bacillus strains not producing harmful components were isolated from Korean traditional soybean products. Extracellular enzyme activities (amylase, protease, cellulase, and xylanase) of isolated Bacillus strains were measured, and Bacillus strains with high protease activity were selected. The selected 15 strains were identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (10), Bacillus methylotrophicus (1), Bacillus velezensis (1), and Bacillus subtilis (3). Among them, B. subtilis JBG17019, B. amyloliquefaciens JBD17076, and B. amyloliquefaciens JBD17109 showed antimicrobial activities against food-borne microorganisms. The production abilities of glutamate, glutamine, and poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) of the selected Bacillus strains were measured to analyze fermentation characteristics related to glutamic acid metabolism. The factor for multivariate was analyzed by the principal components analysis (PCA) method between fermentation characteristics and γ-PGA production. The three principal components were classified according to the PCA method: PC1 [enzyme activity (amylase, cellulase, and xylanase)], PC2 (γ-PGA), and PC3 (protease, glutamate, and glutamine). As a result, B. amyloliquefaciens JBD17076 and B. subtilis JBG17019 strains were evaluated as having excellent enzyme activity and γ-PGA production.