Abstract
Isolating microbes from diverse natural ecological units has led to achieve metabolite structural diversity. Hot springs have been less explored ecological sects for discovery of novel microbial bioactive compounds as compared to other terrestrial samples. The capability of thermophilic microorganisms to flourish at high temperatures makes their enzyme systems ideal for various biotechnological applications. In this study, a total of 11 bacterial strains were isolated from Al-Lith hot spring which named Oyun Al-Haar, located about 17 km northeast of Gomika, at about 250 km south of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. All these isolates were characterized and screened for some enzymes production. They were able to abundantly grow on starch nitrate agar medium and grew optimally at 450 with pH 7.0. According to bioinformatics analysis, the eleven bacterial isolates were encompassing 9 actinomycetes and 2 eubacteria namely, Streptomyces tendae (3 isolates) and only one isolate for each of Streptomyces mutabilis, Streptomyces chitinivorans, Streptomyces barkulensis, Leclercia adecarboxylata, Streptomyces fradiae, Streptomyces azureus, Streptomyces macrosporus and Enterobacter cloacae. Based on the enzymatic activities, all isolates were positive for keratinase, gelatinase, chitinase, and lipase. Nine out of the eleven isolates showed protease production in good levels, and out of these11 isolates, 6 isolates exhibited remarkable amylase activity. Bacteria, especially actinomycetes isolated from hot springs area have gained commercial significance as source of thermostable enzymes. There are few reports of enzymes production from the microflora of hot springs, which opens a window for exploring this resource as potential cache of novel strains with bioactive compounds.