Isolation, phylogenetic analysis and screening of marine mollusc-associated bacteria for antimicrobial, hemolytic and surface activities

This study was undertaken to survey culturable heterotrophic bacteria associated with the marine ark shell Anadara broughtoni inhabiting in the Sea of Japan, and to test isolates for their antimicrobial, hemolytic and surface activities with an emphasis on low-molecular-weight metabolites search. A total of 149 strains were isolated and identified phenotypically. A total of 27 strains were selected to be investigated phylogenetically by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The most bacteria were affiliated with members of the Gammaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria, and less with Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides (CFB) group. The isolates capable of hemolysis were numerically abundant in the genera Pseudoalteromonas, Aeromonas and Bacillus. The six Gram-positive isolates belonging to the genera Bacillus, Paenibacillus and Saccharothrix and two Gram-negative strains related to Pseudomonas and Sphingomonas, possessed antimicrobial activity against indicator strains and to each other. Antimicrobial, hemolytic and surface activities were revealed in butanol extracts of cells or cell-free supernatant of six active strains. This points to availability of active low-molecular-weight metabolites. Substances with hemolytic and surface activities were isolated from strain Bacillus pumilus An 112 and characterized as cyclic depsipeptides with molecular masses 1021, 1035, 1049, 1063 and 1077 Da. The recovery of strains producing antimicrobial and surface-active substances suggests that microorganisms associated with the marine bivalve are potential source of bioactive metabolites. (c) 2006 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.