Isolation and characterization of lipolytic bacteria in wastewater from the Wastewater Treatment Plant of the University of San Carlos de Guatemala

Abstract

This article presents a procedure for the isolation and identification of bacteria with lipolytic activity isolated from the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) of the University of San Carlos of Guatemala. Samples were taken at five different points during the months of July, August and September 2016. Thirty-five strains with lipolytic activity were isolated using tributyrin as a substrate. The lipolytic activity on tributyrin agar of these strains was evidenced, of which twenty were identified up to species. The bacterial species identified correspond to eighteen-Gram negative strains and two-Gram positive strains. Among the identified species are: Serratia marcescens, Acinetobacter baumannii/calcoaceticus, Acinetobacter junii/johnsonii, Comamonas testosteroni, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas alcaligenes, Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Aeromonas sobria, Aeromonas hydrophila/caviae, Pasteurella aerogenes, Pasteurella spp., Chromobacterium violaceum, Bacillus subtillis/amyloliquefaciens and Bacillus coagulans.