Abstract
The mangrove ecosystem is a coastal tropical biome located in the transition zone between land and sea that is characterized by periodic flooding, which confers unique and specific environmental conditions on this biome. In these ecosystems, the vegetation is dominated by a particular group of plant species that provide a unique environment harboring diverse groups of microorganisms, including the endophytic microorganisms that are the focus of this study. Because of their intimate association with plants, endophytic microorganisms could be explored for biotechnologically significant products, such as enzymes, proteins, antibiotics and others. Here, we isolated endophytic microorganisms from two mangrove species, Rhizophora mangle and Avicennia nitida, that are found in streams in two mangrove systems in Bertioga and Cananéia, Brazil. Bacillus was the most frequently isolated genus, comprising 42% of the species isolated from Cananéia and 28% of the species from Bertioga. However, other common endophytic genera such as Pantoea, Curtobacterium and Enterobacter were also found. After identifying the isolates, the bacterial communities were evaluated for enzyme production. Protease activity was observed in 75% of the isolates, while endoglucanase activity occurred in 62% of the isolates. Bacillus showed the highest activity rates for amylase and esterase and endoglucanase. To our knowledge, this is the first reported diversity analysis performed on endophytic bacteria obtained from the branches of mangrove trees and the first overview of the specific enzymes produced by different bacterial genera. This work contributes to our knowledge of the microorganisms and enzymes present in mangrove ecosystems.
Highlights
Mangroves are a tropical coastal biome that is located in the transition zone between the land and the sea where the vegetation is dominated by a particular group of plant species (Zhou et al 2006)
The bacterial densities were very similar in all samples: approximately 105 colony-forming units (CFU) g tissue−1 for both mangrove species analyzed (R. mangle and A. nitida) and both sites (Bertioga and Cananéia)
The isolated bacteria were classified into 12 genera in the Gammaproteobacteria, Bacilli, Alphaproteobacteria, Flavobacteria and Actinobacteria.studies focusing on the isolation and characterization of endophytic bacteria from native plant specimens from the Brazilian mangrove biome are rare
Summary
Mangroves are a tropical coastal biome that is located in the transition zone between the land and the sea where the vegetation is dominated by a particular group of plant species (Zhou et al 2006). This ecosystem is characterized by periodic tidal flooding, making environmental factors such as salinity and nutrient availability highly variable and resulting in unique and specific environmental characteristics (Holguin et al 2006). Studies on the endophytic bacteria of plants from different ecosystems (mangroves, for example) offer a great opportunity to discover new compounds and resources with biotechnological potential that can be exploited (Sivaramakrishnan et al 2006). Microorganisms from mangrove ecosystems contain useful enzymes, proteins, antibiotics and salt tolerant genes, all of which have biotechnological significance (Thatoi et al 2013)
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