Sreedevi N. Kutty, R. Damodaran and Rosamma Philip
Marine yeasts are versatile agents of biodegradation. They act on varied substrates and helps in nutrient recycling. This study mainly focuses on the hydrolytic potential of the marine yeast isolates obtained from the slope sediments of Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. The optimum growth conditions like temperature, salinity and pH of the isolates were also determined. The isolates from Bay of Bengal showed more enzyme production than those of Arabian Sea. All the isolates were lipolytic. Oxidative forms were more in abundance than the fermentative forms. Black yeasts obtained from the study area, showed maximum hydrolytic potential than compared to their counter parts. Majority of the isolates preferred 30οC, pH 6 and 15 ppt salinity for maximal growth
