Evaluation of the Antibiofilm Properties ofArthrobacter defluviiAMET1677 Strain Isolated from Shrimp Pond Sediment against Marine Biofilm Forming Bacteria

Abstract

Biofouling is the undesirable accumulation of a biotic deposit on a wetted surface. The whole marine biofouling problem begins with the adhesion of microorganisms which form a microbial biofilm to which other organisms may adhere, settle, and grow. Marine biofouling is a costly problem as it reduces the speed of ship and increase the fuel consumption. The main driver for legislation that has outlawed some highly effective AF paints, notably the use of tributyltin oxide. Green alternatives to biocide-based technologies are therefore urgently sought by the marine coatings industry, and there is considerable interest in developing biocide-free coatings. The present studies investigate the possible role of bacterial strains of Shrimp Pond sediment which were productively screened for antifouling activity against marine biofilm-forming bacteria. Biofouling bacteria were isolated from fouling sample collected from ships and other marine structures at Ennore harbour (Latitude 13° 15′ 48 N, Longitude 80° 20′ 28 E) and its population was estimated as 9.13×106 CFU/gram. The biofilm forming potential of the bacterial cultures were tested by tube method and potential biofilm forming strains BFB3, BFB5, BFB 6, BFB9 and BFB 12 were selected based on the OD Values. Morphologically different Bacterial strains were isolated from the Shrimp Pond water and 5 were selected based on the percentage of occurance. Antibacterial activity was performed with different solvent extracts of bacterial isolates against the Marine biofilm forming bacteria. The ethyl acetate extract of AMET1677 showed maximum zone of inhibition. The potential strain AMET1677 was identified as Arthrobacter defluvii by 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis submitted in genbank with the accession number KT072093. Thin Layer Chromatography was performed with the ethyl acetate extract and compound separated at Rf Value 0.28. The separated compound was evaluated for antibiofilm activity and showed maximum inhibition 0.142 ± 0.002 at 100 μl concentration. Further studies on this compound from Arthrobacter defluvii AMET1677 raise the possibility to produce eco-friendly antifoulants.