STUDIES ABOUT CASEIN DEGRADATION BY BREVIBACTERIUM-LINENS

Proteolytic activity and degradation of alpha(s1)- and beta-casein wer e tested with 5 strains of Brevibacterium linens. The highest proteoly tic volume activity was found in the culture supernatant of strain DSM 20426. The proteolytic specific activity of the supernatants of the t ested strains ranged from 3 to 22 mg casein degraded/h . protein. Two strains were able to degrade both, alpha(s1)- and beta-casein complete ly, whereas the other strains preferred beta-casein. Corresponding to the differences in degradation kinetics, different degradation product s were found in electrophoretic patterns.