Isolation and Characterization of Thermophilic Bacteria in Chicken Compost

Tan, Rebecca Jing Shi (2024) Isolation and Characterization of Thermophilic Bacteria in Chicken Compost. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

Rising demand for chicken meat has created problems in handling enormous amounts of chicken manure. The most environmentally friendly way to process the manure was by converting it to compost. However, the composting period of chicken manure will take around 6 months. Expediting the composting process will help to better manage the chicken manure produced by farms, reducing its impact on the environment. The aim of this study was to determine the diversity of thermophilic bacteria in chicken manure compost provided by Teo Seng Capital Berhad. This was followed by the isolation and characterization of beneficial thermophilic bacteria from the chicken manure compost. First, the compost was subjected to DNA extraction using the Qiagen Pro DNA Kit followed by gel electrophoresis and PCR before being sent for metagenomic analysis. This step was to identify the bacterial populations present in the sample. Next, three groups of Gram-positive thermophilic bacteria were targeted for isolated from the compost using selective media namely nutrient agar (for Bacillus sp.), deMan Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) agar (for lactic acid bacteria) and Actinomycetes Isolation Agar (AIA) (for Actinomycetes). All of the cultures were incubated at 50℃ to provide optimal conditions for thermophilic bacteria. The characterization and identification of thermophilic isolates were determined via macroscopic (colony morphology) and microscopic (Gram and endospore staining) examination. Based on the metagenomic analysis, the most abundant microbial compositions at the genus level are Weissella sp., SMB53 sp., Anaerococcus sp., Gallicola sp., Caldicoprobacter sp., Corynebacterium sp. and other unknown bacteria. The top 10 most abundant microbial compositions were from 5 orders namely Lactobacillales, Clostridiaceae, Halanaerobiales, Actinomycetales and Bacillales. Isolation of thermophilic bacteria via plating method yielded 6 isolates of Bacillus sp., 4 isolates of lactic acid bacteria and 6 isolates of actinomycetes. In conclusion, the bacterial populations of chicken manure in the thermophilic stage have been determined. Bacillus, Lactobacillus and Actinomycetes had been successfully isolated and their presence had been proved by the metagenomic study. These isolated microbes were expected to have the potential to expedite the composting process.