Abstract
A library of microorganisms originating from various marine environments in French Polynesia was screened for polyhydroxyalkanoate producing bacteria. No significant connection was found between the geo-ecological source of bacteria and their ability to produce polyhydroxyalkanoate. A bacterial strain designated as Enterobacter FAK 1384 was isolated from a shark jaw. When grown on coprah oil, this bacterium produces a PHA constituting of 62 mol % 3-hydroxydecanoate and lower amount of 12 mol % 3-hydroxydodecenoate and of 7.6 mol % 3-hydroxydodecanoate. These interesting properties make this mcl-PHA a good candidate for further exploitations in many industrial sectors, as in film and coating manufacturing, as well as for biomedical applications.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13568-015-0163-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Microorganisms are widely recognized as a source of novel enzymes, biocatalysts and bioactive compounds, as well as biomaterials
Collection, isolation, cultivation and phylogenetic identification of PHA‐producing bacteria Since 2001, samples were collected from different geomorphological places over four of the five archipelagos of French Polynesia, which include marine sediment, marine animals, microbial mats, microbial films and the water column
Screening for promising isolates and their origin of distribution Out of the 760 bacterial isolates from different biological habitats collected around the four island groups of French Polynesia (Tuamotu, Society, Austral and Marquesas) (Table 2), 95 showed strong fluorescence under UV light when grown on Zobell media plates containing Nile red
Summary
Microorganisms are widely recognized as a source of novel enzymes, biocatalysts and bioactive compounds, as well as biomaterials. Biotechnological interest in the exploitation of marine environments has been increasing and scientific literature is steadily producing new discoveries of bioactive marine metabolites (Imhoff et al 2011). Unusual environments with extreme conditions are a natural treasure chest for innovative bioactive molecules (Ferrer et al 2005). Among these are bacterial biopolymers, and more polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), which are biopolyesters produced by many microorganisms as intracellular storage material.
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