Isolation and characterization of tyrosinase produced by marine actinobacteria and its application in the removal of phenol from aqueous environment

The present study was focused on screening and characterization of tyrosinase enzyme produced by marine actinobacteria and its application in phenolic compounds removal from aqueous solution. A total of 20 strains were isolated from marine sediment sample and screened for tyrosinase production by using skimmed milk agar medium. Among 20 isolates, two isolates LK-4 and LK-20 showed zone of hydrolysis and these were taken for secondary screening by using tyrosine agar medium. Based on the result of secondary screening LK-4 was selected for further analysis, such as tyrosinase assay, protein content and specific activity of the enzyme. The tyrosinase enzyme was produced in a SS medium and was partially purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, dialysis and SDS PAGE. The isolate (LK-4) was identified as Streptomyces espinosus using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and named as “Streptomyces espinosus strain LK4 (KF806735)”. The tyrosinase enzyme was immobilized in sodium alginate which was applied to remove phenolic compounds from water. The enzyme efficiently removed the phenolic compounds from aqueous solution within few hours which indicated that tyrosinase enzyme produced by Streptomyces espinosus strain LK-4 can be potently used for the removal of phenol and phenolic compounds from wastewater in industries.