Agar is a polysaccharide from red algae’s cell wall, which has together with its hydrolysis products considerable importance in industry and pharmacy. Hydrolysis is possible chemically or enzymatically, which is more economically and ecologically suitable. The goal of the first part of my thesis was the isolation of agar degrading microorganisms from a sample of seawater, by cultivation on media with agar as a primary source of nourishments. DNA was isolated from selected microorganisms to determine their genus with 16S sequencing. To determine their optimal cultivation and enzyme production parameters, microorganisms were cultivated on different solid and liquid media at different temperatures. Strains that had shown the best enzymatic activity and biotechnical potential were Tamlana, Saccharophagus and Microbulbifer. In the second part of the thesis, enzyme mixture from each strain was isolated to determine enzymatic activity at different temperatures with a qualitative test and to determine a mass class with a zymogram. The results had shown that the optimal temperature for enzymes' activity is thirty-seven degrees Celsius however, some still had good activity at lower temperatures. Isolated marine bacteria are biotechnologically interesting but unsuitable to use in the industry because of their longer growth time and need for a marine medium. On the other hand, their enzymes are interesting for future research and modifications for potential industrial usage.
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