Abstract
The objectives of present study are to extract the antibiotic compound from marine isolate and to determine its in vitro antimicrobial activity against bacteria. A marine bacterial isolate Serratia marcescens IBRL USM 84 was isolated from the surface of a marine sponge Xestospongia testudinaria. This species of bacteria produced red pigment with antibacterial activity. The red antibacterial pigment was produced intracellularly and inhibited 13 out of 18 tested bacteria, with Gram positive was more susceptible than the Gram negative bacteria. The growth and antibacterial red pigment production profiles demonstrated the highest antibacterial red pigment production was achieved at the 48 hours of cultivation (14.08 U/ml) time in marine broth when incubated at 25°C with 150 rpm agitation. The antibacterial red pigment was extracted, purified and confirmed as prodigiosin.
Highlights
The increasing numbers in bacterial resistance to a number of antimicrobial agents is becoming a major health problem worldwide
A marine bacterial isolate Serratia marcescens IBRL USM 84 was isolated from the surface of a marine sponge Xestospongia testudinaria
A marine sponge associated bacterial isolate Serratia marcencens IBRL USM 84 was found to produce significant intracellular antibacterial red pigment which was confirmed as prodigiosin
Summary
The increasing numbers in bacterial resistance to a number of antimicrobial agents is becoming a major health problem worldwide. The increasing use and misuse, of existing antibiotics in human, veterinary medicine and in agriculture has further aggravated the problem (Todar, 2004). Common species among them are methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Barrett and Barrett, 2003; Dancer, 2008). It is further stated that, about 70% of the bacteria that cause infections in hospitals are resistant to at least one of the drugs most commonly used for treatment (Todar, 2004). There is an urgent need for the discovery of new classes of antimicrobial compounds to overcome existing resistance mechanisms and to effectively combat these human pathogens that can cause lifethreatening infections.
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