PRODUCTION OF ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE FROM A FACULTATIVE PSYCHROPHILIC PSEUDOMONAS SP. MRLBA1 ISOLATED FROM PASSU GLACIER, PAKISTAN.

Among our collection of psychrophilic bacteria from various non-polar glaciers, the present study involves the study of the ability of the psychrophilic bacterial strains, isolated from Passu Glacier, Pakistan, to produce thermolabile alkaline phosphatase extracellularly as well as intracellularly. The biophysio-chemical characteristics and 16S rRNA signatures of the isolate MRLBA1 were similar to the members of genus Pseudomonas. This rod shaped MRLBA1 isolated from glacial ice exhibited aerobic growth cycle with cardinal limits of pH; 4-11 and temperature; 2-30°C. The strain showed highest extracellular alkaline phosphatase activity at pH 8.0 and 18°C when inoculated with 24 h old inoculum (5%), after 48 h of incubation in shake flask at 150 rpm. The strain’s targeting mechanism of alkaline phosphatase at cell membrane as well as in the extracellular medium is interesting. The results demonstrated that alkaline phosphatase being thermolabile, acts as a stress protein also in addition to harvesting the energy directly in carbon deficient ice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]