ABSTRACT
Poultry industry is one of the fastest-growing industries which produce a huge amount of feather waste as a by-product. Management of feather waste is a challenging task because of its recalcitrant nature to degradation. On the other hand, valorization or recycling of agricultural waste into value-added products is an emerging research area for sustainable development. Feathers are rich in protein content (90% of weight) in the form of keratin; hence, they can be used as a source of protein, amino acids, and nitrogen. In this context, keratinolytic microorganisms have been explored for the valorization of feathers for the past thirty years. Microbial/enzymatic hydrolyzed feather finds various applications in many industrial sectors. Investigation on feather degradation is a promising area of research in the discovery of new keratinolytic bacteria, identification of keratinases with better catalytic activity capable of improving the yield and quality of the feather hydrolysate, and further exploration of poultry waste for a novel application in industrial sectors.
