Isolation,screening and identification of bacterium strains for accelerating flax degumming

Fifty-one strains of bacteria that produce pectinase were isolated from flax retting water,plantation soil and the soil underneath flax residua.Four of these strains had high activity in pectinase and xylanase(the primary hemicellulase),but no cellulase activity.Based on the behavior in ability of decomposing pectin,duration of flax retting time and the quality of retted flax fiber,YN1.1 is a promising bacterium strain for flax degumming.This strain is identified as Bacillus licheniformis based on 16S rDNA sequencing and physiological and biochemical test.