Patent ID: 7252983

Claim:
A method of preparing animal feed, comprising: a) providing a mixture comprising a feed component and a preparation comprising a thermotolerant phytase which retains at least 40% activity after 30 minutes at 60° C. and has a specific activity of greater than 200 U/mg at pH 4.5 and 37° C., wherein the thermotolerant phytase is encoded by a nucleic acid molecule comprising the nucleic acid sequence depicted in SEQ ID NO:4 encompassed by the restriction enzyme sites XhoI and NotI or a conservative variant thereof, or wherein the thermotolerant phytase comprises the polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a conservative variant thereof; and b) treating the mixture under conditions of temperature and moisture which hydrolyze phytic acid present in the mixture so as to yield animal feed.