Molecular identification and hemolytic activity of four jellyfish-associated marine fungi from Cagbatano Bay, Pio Duran, Philippines

Abstract

This study aims to preliminarily investigate and explore the potential of jellyfish-associated marine fungi in the Philippines for cytotoxicity indicators. The fungi were isolated from the sub-umbrellar tissues of the jellyfish Catostylus sp. collected from the coasts of Pio Duran in the Philippines. Fungal strains were molecular identified using their internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. Crude extracts were obtained by ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extraction of rice-fermented culture supernatants. Qualitative preliminary metabolite screening on the crude extracts and in vitro hemolysis screening of crude EtOAc extracts were conducted. Four fungal strains were isolated which revealed 93% to 100% similarity to Aspergillus nomius, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus tamarii and Penicillium citrinum. Alkaloids, phenols, and terpenoids were present in all the crude extracts. Likewise, all crude fungal extracts demonstrated hemolytic activity in mouse erythrocytes with the highest hemolytic activity (EC50 of 3.62μg/ml) observed in Aspergillus tamarii crude extract. This result provided robust baseline information that cnidarian-associated fungi species are promising sources of marine bioactive compounds which could be later developed for novel drug candidates.