Abstract
The present study was carried out to screen autochthonous gut bacteria in freshwater air breathing walking catfish, Clarias batrachus Linnaeus. Altogether, 100 extracellular enzyme-producing bacteria were isolated from the foregut (FG) and hindgut (HG) regions. Data were presented as log viable counts g-1 gut (LVC). The occurrence of heterotrophic bacterial population was higher in the FG region (LVC = 8.25) than the HG (LVC= 7.3). Similarly, proteolytic, amylolytic and lipolytic bacteria in FG outnumbered (LVC=7.25, 6.77 and 5.23 respectively) the HG (LVC=6.38, 5.58 and 4.04 respectively). However, occurrence of cellulolytic bacteria in both, FG and HG was less (LVC=2.1 and 1.34 respectively) in comparison to the other extracellular enzyme-producing bacteria. Out of the 100 bacterial isolates, 22 isolates were primarily selected through qualitative assay of extracellular enzyme activities. Among them, 3 promising isolates were chosen as potent extracellular enzyme producers on the basis of cumulative scores (≥11) of the qualitative assay and quantitative enzyme assay. Maximum protease activity was revealed by the strain FG10 (201±2.40U), while FG43 exhibited maximum amylase (208.3±10.8U) and lipase (4.73±0.05U) activities. Among the strains isolated from the HG, the highest protease (188.3±1.2U), amylase (97.6±0.46U) and lipase (3.7±0.11U) activities were recorded with the strain HG01. The isolates (FG10, FG43 and HG01) were studied through 16S rRNA partial gene sequence analyses and were identified as Bacillus aryabhattai (KP784311), B. flexus (KR809411), and B. cereus (KR809412), respectively. Further studies are to be conducted to evaluate the efficacy of these strains in vivo to improve the overall health status of the C. batrachus juveniles.