eng Science and Education Publishing Journal of Applied & Environmental Microbiology 2014-06-15 2 4 166 175 10.12691/jaem-2-4-10 JAEM20142410 article Ajita Sundarram 1 Thirupathihalli Pandurangappa Krishna Murthy crishna@live.in 1 Department of Biotechnology, Sapthagiri College of Engineering, Bangalore, India Amylases are important hydrolase enzymes which have been widely used since many decades. These enzymes randomly cleave internal glycosidic linkages in starch molecules to hydrolyze them and yield dextrins and oligosaccharides. Among amylases α-Amylase is in maximum demand due to its wide range of applications in the industrial front. With consumers growing increasingly aware of environmental issues, industries find enzymes as a good alternative over other chemical catalysts. α-Amylase can be produced by plant or microbial sources. Due to the advantages that microbial production offers, α-Amylase from microorganisms has been focused upon and preferred to other sources for production. The ubiquitous nature, ease of production and broad spectrum of applications make α-Amylase an industrially important enzyme. This report focuses on the microbial production of α-Amylase and its applications. http://pubs.sciepub.com/jaem/2/4/10/jaem-2-4-10.pdf enzymes α-amylase microbial production applications