Chemical mutation of Bacillus subtilis RRM1 increases L-asparaginase activity

Strain improvement through chemical mutagenesis can be used for improving enzyme activity. An investigation has been carried out on the enzyme activity improvement of Bacillus subtilis RRM1 induced by the chemical mutagens, ethyl methanesulfonate, 5-bromouracil, and ethidium bromide. Different concentrations of mutagens were applied to produce improved strain for increasing L-asparaginase activity. Qualitative and quantitative assays of L-asparaginase on the mutant bacterial isolates showed that the enzyme activity could increase from 3.18 to 12.87 U/mL. Hence, as compared to the wild type strains, it indicated that induced mutation enhanced the ability of Bacillus subtilis RRM1 strains to produce more L-asparaginase enzyme up to 4.09-fold.