MANOJA DAS AND SUNIL KUMAR
Abstract
Beta lactamase is an enzyme, produced by certain microbes which are showing resistance to â lacto antibiotics. Bacterium was isolated from different soil samples of Mahendragiri region, Orissa. Morphological and biochemical characteristics of the bacterium were studied. The biochemical tests revealed that bacterium was strain of Staphyloccus aureus. The bacterium was screened for their ability to produce â lactamase enzyme. Out of seven strains, three of them i.e. LPB2, LPB4 and LPB7 produced comparatively more amount of enzyme among the isolated strains of the bacteria. These strains showed tolerance up to 600μg of commercially availably penicillin in nutrient agar culture. The qualitative analysis of enzyme indicated that it had better quality than the enzyme produces by the antibiotic resistance E. coli. The bacterium possesses plasmid in their cell. Therefore, it can be concluded that presence of â lactamase enzyme producing clinically important bacterium in the soil of Mahendragiri region has both ecologically and economically significant.