LAUSR

Abstract The nutritional and environmental conditions have a great influence on chitinase production, due to the receptor-inducer system that control enzymes production.in these sense, the aim of this study was to screen several nitrogen sources and optimize the most important fermentation conditions affecting Bacillus sp. R2 chitinase production. The results of one variable at time technique (OVAT) in shake flasks, revealed that among various nitrogen sources tested 0.5% yeast extract led to maximum production. Furthermore, the highest chitinase activity was detected after 24 h incubation period at temperature of 30C, initial pH: 7.5, 2.5 to 3% NaCl concentration and under 180 rpm shaking using 2.5% (8.9 × 108 CFU/ml) as best inoculum size. These optimizations can reduce the cost of chitinase production for the large scale specially