Secretion of DNases by Marine Bacteria: A Culture Based and Bioinformatics Approach.

The vast majority of bacteria present in the natural environment are present in the form of aggregates and/or biofilms. Microbial aggregates are ubiquitous in the marine environment and are inhabited by diverse microbial communities which often express intense extracellular enzymatic activities. However, the secretion of an important group of enzymes, DNases, by bacteria from marine aggregates has not been studied, despite the importance of these aggregates in biogeochemical cycling of nutrients in the oceans.

Use of physiological information and process optimisation enhances production of extracellular nuclease by a marine strain of Bacillus licheniformis.

The extracellular nuclease, NucB, from Bacillus licheniformis, can digest extracellular DNA in biofilms, causing biofilm dispersal, and may therefore be used commercially to remove biofilms. However, producing quantities of this secreted peptide is difficult and our aim was therefore to improve its laboratory scale production. This study builds on our understanding of B.