Screening for enzymatic potential of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Fji isolated from watermelon juice for industrial application

The demand for microbial enzymes in industrial processes has driven the exploration of naturally occurring microorganisms. This study aimed to screen for enzymatic potential of saccharomyces cerevisiae FJI isolated from watermelon juice for industrial application. The watermelon juice was inoculated on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) and incubated at 30°C for 48 hours. Thereafter the isolates were subjected to identification by phenotypic and molecular characterization. The identified yeast strain was screened for amylase, protease and lipase production using spot inoculation method on their agar plates respectively. The results revealed three species of Saccharomyces. The molecular characterization confirmed the Saccharomyces species as Saccharomyces cerevisiae which has 96.27% pairwise similarity with Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain LXFM5F2 with NCBI accession number: MW709988.1. The characterized yeast strain described as Saccharomyces cerevisiae FJI demonstrated lipase, amylase and protease activity. The highest zone of hydrolysis was seen in lipase activity which recorded ±22mm while the least hydrolysis was seen in protease activity (±7mm). The findings demonstrates that Saccharomyces cerevisiae FJI from watermelon juice is a valuable source of relevant industrial enzymes, especially lipase and amylase. Its molecular identity and enzymatic profile make it a promising candidate for biotechnological exploitation in enzyme production.