Prospecting the biotechnological potential of culturable halophilic bacteria isolated from Provadia salt deposit (Bulgaria) near the oldest salt production and urban complex in Europe.

Halophilic bacteria are recognized as a promising source of novel enzymes and biopolymers with various applications in biotechnology and the industry. In comparison with their mesophilic analogues, halophilic metabolites are stable under extreme conditions typically encountered in the industrial processes. In this study, the biotechnological potential of twenty strains of halophilic bacteria isolated from the Provadia salt deposit, Bulgaria was investigated for the first time. The strains were identified based on the sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and were assigned to 13 different species falling in the Bacillota and Pseudomonadota phyla. The majority (90%) of them showed single or combined hydrolytic enzyme activity. Half of the strains (55%) were able to produce between three and eight extracellular hydrolytic enzymes-arabinase, cellulase, gelatinase, glucanase, L-glutaminase, pectinase, and xylanase. Ten strains were able to synthesise exopolysaccharides (EPS) in concentration between 32 and 227 μg/ml. The optimal EPS production kinetics (1.6 ± 0.15 g/l) by Virgibacillus halodenitrificans PSZ-34 was systematically investigated for the first time. Three strains also exhibited antimicrobial activity. The present study involved culture-dependant isolation of halophilic bacteria from the Provadia salt deposit and shed more light on their capability to synthesise hydrolytic enzymes and EPS with potential industrial exploitation.