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Bacterial Keratinases: Useful Enzymes for Bioprocessing Agroindustrial Wastes and Beyond

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Abstract

Keratin-rich wastes in the form of feathers, hair, nails, and horn are highly available as byproducts of agroindustrial processing. The increased needs for energy conserving and recycling, summed with the huge increase in poultry industry, have strongly stimulated the search for alternatives for the management of recalcitrant keratinous wastes. Keratinases, which are produced by several bacteria that have been often isolated from soils and poultry wastes, show potential use in biotechnological processes involving keratin hydrolysis. Although these isolates are mostly restricted to the genera Streptomyces and Bacillus, the diversity of keratinolytic bacteria is significantly greater. Bacterial keratinases are mostly serine proteases, although increased information about keratinolytic metalloproteases, particularly from Gram-negative bacteria, became available. These enzymes are useful in processes related with the bioconversion of keratin waste into feed and fertilizers. Other promising applications have been associated with keratinolytic enzymes, including enzymatic dehairing for leather and cosmetic industry, detergent uses, and development of biopolymers from keratin fibers. The use of keratinases to enhance drug delivery in some tissues and hydrolysis of prion proteins arise as novel outstanding applications for these enzymes.

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Acknowledgements

The author is a research fellow of Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq), Brazil.

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  1. Laboratório de Bioquímica e Microbiologia Aplicada, Departamento de Ciência de Alimentos, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, ICTA-UFRGS, Av. Bento Gonçalves 9500, 91501-970, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Adriano Brandelli

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Brandelli, A. Bacterial Keratinases: Useful Enzymes for Bioprocessing Agroindustrial Wastes and Beyond. Food Bioprocess Technol 1, 105–116 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-007-0025-y

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