Abstract
Marine bacteria produce natural pigments; however, the ability of marine bacterial symbionts to produce natural pigments has been less studied. Marine bacteria associated with soft-coral Sarcophyton sp. collected from Karimunjawa Island were successfully isolated and screened to synthesize the carotenoid pigments. This approach has allowed the use of these symbionts as an environmental friendly source of new natural pigments. Out of 33 bacterial isolates, only 4 bacterial symbionts (CBSCP 2-2, CBSCP 2-3, CBSCP 1-1, and CBSCP 2-4), positively contain carotenoid pigments. Molecular identification based on 16S rDNA method showed that bacterial symbionts CBSCP 2-2, CBSCP 2-3, CBSCP 1-1, and CBSCP 2-4 were closely related to Pseudoalteromonas shioyasakiensis, Pseudoalteromonas rubra, Virgibacillus salaries, and Pseudoalteromonas spongiae. Pigment analysis showed that the pigments have been categorized within the groups of carotenoid pigments. Antioxidant activity of pigment extracts was done by measuring inhibitory concentration (IC50) of pigment extract against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) solution. The antioxidant activity measurement of CBSCP 1-1, CBSCP 2-2, CBSCP 2-3, and CBSCP 2-4 extract, and β-carotene was 2015, 5017, 2520, 4213, and 1980 mg l−1, respectively.
Highlights
The marine environment is the largest habitat on Earth, representing more than 70% of the surface of our planet
Screening of bacterial symbionts of soft-coral Sarcophyton sp. resulted in four isolates that are capable of producing pigments
The results of the spectra obtained at each peak indicate that the pigments produced by all four bacterial symbionts are carotenoids
Summary
The marine environment is the largest habitat on Earth, representing more than 70% of the surface of our planet. These diverse marine environments still remain largely unexplored, understudied, and underexploited in comparison with terrestrial ecosystems and organisms (Joint et al 2010). Indonesia is the global epicenter of marine biodiversity and is one of the mega diverse countries that harbor the majority of the Earth’s species. Indonesia is well known for housing a unique and diverse sponge fauna. Natural products from marine invertebrates greatly expand the chemical diversity available for biotechnological exploitation. The diversity of marine invertebrates has not been utilized optimally, including soft corals
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