10.22376/ijpbs.2019.10.1.p1-12 Volume 3 Issue 3 2012 (July - September) 239 bacterial isolates producing extracellular chitinase were selected from coastal environments of Kochi using a solid medium containing prawn shell powder. Among them 23 isolates which produced clear zone with diameter greaterThan 1.5cm were tested for production of chitinase in a medium containing prawn shell powder. The bacterium designated as Mb 126 was the highest yielding and was selected for further studies. It was identified as lessThan i greaterThan Kurthia gibsonii lessThan /i greaterThan . 0.6% of prawn shell powder, pH 6.5, temperature of incubation 35 lessThan sup greaterThan 0 lessThan /sup greaterThan C and agitation rate 100 rpm were the conditions optimum for chitinase production. This is the first report of chitinase production by lessThan i greaterThan kurthia gibsonii lessThan /i greaterThan . Mini K Paul, Mini K D,Ally C Antony, Dr.E K Radhakrishnan And Dr. Jyothis Mathew Chitinase, Prawn shell waste, Kurthia gibsonii Mb 126, Optimization 163-172