Isolation, Molecular Identification and Enzyme Activity of Amylase Producing Thermophilic Bacteria From Hot Springs

In this era, enzyme exploration in Indonesia continues to increase, and the amylase enzyme of about 30% of the total production is used worldwide. The great needs for amylase enzyme and its uses in several industrial and health fields lead to the search for potential natural resources in its production, including hot springs, which are very promising because of their thermophilic and thermostable properties. The aim of this study was to isolate, determine the activity and molecular identification of amylase-producing thermophilic bacteria from natural hot springs Dolok Tinggi Raja, Simalungun, North Sumatra. This study includes measurement of enzyme activity using the DNS method and molecular identification. The results were obtained from 20 isolated isolates, 6 isolates had amylase activity with the highest activity, namely the UTMTR VAR A10 isolate with an amylase enzyme activity of 0.2733 Unit/mL. Based on the molecular identification using 16SrRNA gene amplification based on the BLAST program and phylogenetic analysis with the MEGA X program, it was shown that the UTMTR VAR A10 isolate is a bacterium Bacillus licheniformis strain UTMTR VAR A10. Further research is needed to purify the enzyme in such a way that it can be applied to the industrial world