Table 2. Morphological and cultural characteristics of the protease producing strains.

Isolates	Colony on NA medium	Colony color	Appearance in broth culture	Oxygen requirement
TGB1	Irregular, raised with undulate edge	Dull white	Turbidity with pellicle and sediment in the bottom of the tube	Aerobic
TGB2	Irregular, raised with undulate edge	Dull white	Turbidity with pellicle and sediment in the bottom of the tube	Facultative anaerobe
TGB3	Circular, entire, low convex with regular edge	Yellowish white	Dense turbidity and sediment in the bottom of the tube.	Facultative anaerobe
TGB4	Circular, raised with regular edge	Dull white	Uniform turbidity	Aerobic
TGB5	Punctiform, flat with regular edge on Nutrient Medium	Dull white	Turbidity with pellicle and sediment in the bottom of the tube	Facultative anaerobe
TGB6	Punctiform, convex with regular edge	Yellowish	Uniform Turbidity and sediment in the bottom of the tube.	Facultative anaerobe
TGB7	Circular, raised with regular edge	Yellowish	Uniform Turbidity and sediment in the bottom of the tube.	Facultative anaerobe

Phylogenetic tree based on homology of the 16S rRNA genes of the isolates with their closest GenBank strains and type strains is depicted in Figure 1. The phylogenetic analysis showed a clear congruence with taxonomic assignments of the isolates. Each isolate formed a separate cluster with its nearest type strain and GenBank strains of the same species, located at similar distances.