SCREENING OF OMANI DESERT SOILS FOR THERMOPHILIC BACTERIA CARRYING THERMOSTABLE PHYTASES

Phytases and carbohydrases such as xylanases and ?-glucanases are currently the enzymes used as feed supplements with highest market share. This growing industry has nearly a one billion US dollar market globally p.a., however, it is dominated by a few companies with a limited number of related products. Due to high temperatures during feed processing, new thermostable enzymes are needed and are extremely valued. We hypothesize that Omani desert soils have extremophile bacteria with high heat resistance and that these bacteria harbour genes for highly thermotolerant phytases and carbohydrases that can be suitable for applications as feed supplements. This project will deal with the screening of Omani desert soil environments for feed industry suitable thermostable phytases. These thermostable enzymes will be further characterized for their biochemical properties and the performance of the most suitable enzymes will be tested using an in vitro simulation poultry stomach environment. This project opens the exploration of the genetic bio-resources of Omani extremophiles with numerous possible biotechnological applications. This research area is in line with Omani directives of improving the technological level of local animal production sector for an increased productivity and quality through a better animal nutrition. Additionally, this project will involve at least one masters and two undergrad students and help to give the SWAE?s Soil Microbiology lab operational capabilities for molecular biology methods.

Phytases and carbohydrases such as xylanases and ?-glucanases are currently the enzymes used as feed supplements with highest market share. This growing industry has nearly a one billion US dollar market globally p.a., however, it is dominated by a few companies with a limited number of related products. Due to high temperatures during feed processing, new thermostable enzymes are needed and are extremely valued. We hypothesize that Omani desert soils have extremophile bacteria with high heat resistance and that these bacteria harbour genes for highly thermotolerant phytases and carbohydrases that can be suitable for applications as feed supplements. This project will deal with the screening of Omani desert soil environments for feed industry suitable thermostable phytases. These thermostable enzymes will be further characterized for their biochemical properties and the performance of the most suitable enzymes will be tested using an in vitro simulation poultry stomach environment. This project opens the exploration of the genetic bio-resources of Omani extremophiles with numerous possible biotechnological applications. This research area is in line with Omani directives of improving the technological level of local animal production sector for an increased productivity and quality through a better animal nutrition. Additionally, this project will involve at least one masters and two undergrad students and help to give the SWAE?s Soil Microbiology lab operational capabilities for molecular biology methods.