Isolation and screening of brittlestar-associated bacteria for antibacterial activity.
Many microbes associated with marine organisms have antimicrobial activity. We report the isolation of bacteria associated with Amphipholis gracillima that have broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against a number of common bacterial strains. Fifty-eight isolates of bacilli obtained from A. gracillima arm homogenates, from excised wound tissue, or from swabs of arm stumps exhibited 20-100% inhibition of one or more of 16 test bacteria at 35% salinity. Forty-one of the isolates were capable of 20-100% inhibition of one or more of 19 subject bacteria at 10% salinity at 37 degrees C. Three isolates, BE37, BE52, and BE53, exhibited the greatest range of antibacterial activity at both 10% and 35% salinity. Our results suggest that some of the bacteria associated with A. gracillima may provide the animal with chemical defenses against adverse bacterial infection. The water-soluble inhibitory chemicals produced by the bacteria could potentially function as antimicrobial compounds against human pathogenic bacteria.
Strahl
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Department of Biology, Appalachian State University, P.O. Box 32027, Boone, NC 28608-2027, USA.
Dobson
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Lundie
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D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013215:Starfish / Q000382:microbiology*; D014871:Water Microbiology