Abstract
This study aimed to isolate agarase-producing bacteria from seawater, and then determine activity of the agarase. Eight coastal surface seawater samples were collected from Ba Ria - Vung Tau province. Twenty-one bacterial strains that are capable of liquefying agar were isolated. These isolates produced disintegration zones around their colonies on agar plates with diameters ranging from 4.0 to 7.0 cm after an incubation period of 2 days at room temperature. Five bacterial strains (M1, M5, M7, M62B, and M71) that produced large halos on plates were identified belonging to Vibrio genus with identity > 96%. The crude enzyme activities of these strains ranged from 0.15 to 0.22 U/mL in reaction with agarose as substrate. Among isolated strains, the strain M71 showed the highest agarase activity, and was used to examine the degradation of seaweed. The hydrolysis of dried Gracilaria seaweed by the crude enzyme of M71 at concentration of 5% (v/v) released 915 μM/mL reducing sugar after a 24-h incubation period at 40oC.
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