Effect of seaweed epibiotic bacterium Streptomyces violaceoruber SCH-09 on marine fouling organisms

Seaweed-associated bacteria play a role in helping to protect host organisms from biofouling by producing anti-fouling compounds. In a first step to develop such anti-fouling compounds, we isolated epibiotic bacteria from seaweed and subsequently screen culture extracts for anti-fouling activities. The active epibiotic bacterium studied was isolated from Undaria pinnatifida and identified as Streptomyces violaceoruber based on 16S rDNA sequence analysis. Two active compounds were isolated from the culture extracts by silica gel chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography, and their structures were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance and high-resolution electron ionization mass spectrometry. The compounds were identified as furanone derivatives: 3-octa-1',3'-dienyl-4-methylfuran-2(5H)-one and 3-octa-1'-enyl-4-methylfuran-2(5H)-one, respectively. These compounds showed anti-fouling activities against the following fouling organisms: zoospores of Ulva pertusa, the diatom Navicula annexa, and the mussel Mytilus edulis, with an EC50 (minimum concentration for 50 % spore inhibition) range of 0.02-0.1 mu g/ml. In the acute toxicity tests on juvenile rockfish Shebastes shlegelli, brine shrimp Artemia salina, and microalga Tetraselmis suecica, the two compounds showed LC50 (concentration lethal to 50 % of the spores) ranges of 13.9-118.9 and 14.8-81.9 mu g/ml, respectively.