Isolation and characterization of an Antarctic Flavobacterium strain with agarase and alginate lyase activities

Abstract

Several bacteria that are associated with macroalgae can use phycocolloids as a carbon source. Strain INACH002, isolated from decomposing Porphyra (Rhodophyta), in King George Island, Antarctica, was screened and characterized for the ability to produce agarase and alginate-lyase enzymatic activities. Our strain INACH002 was identified as a member of the genus Flavobacterium, closely related to Flavobacterium faecale, using 16S rRNA gene analysis. The INACH002 strain was characterized as psychrotrophic due to its optimal temperature (17 ºC) and maximum temperature (20°C) of growth. Agarase and alginate-lyase displayed enzymatic activities within a range of 10°C to 50°C, with differences in the optimal temperature to hydrolyze agar (50°C), agarose (50°C) and alginate (30°C) during the first 30 min of activity. Strain Flavobacterium INACH002 is a promising Antarctic biotechnological resource; however, further research is required to illustrate the structural and functional bases of the enzymatic performance observed during the degradation of different substrates at different temperatures.

Draft Genome Sequence of Flavobacterium sp. Strain PL002, Isolated from Antarctic Porphyra Algae

“…Flavobacterium species belonging to the phylum Bacteroidetes are Gram-negative, non-endospore-forming, aerobic, oxidase-positive, nonfermenting, yellow-pigmented bacteria inhabiting a wide variety of environments ( 1 ). Members of this genus, also described as part of bacterial communities associated with macroalgae from extremely cold environments (Antarctic Ocean), exhibited an interesting capability to hydrolyze phycocolloids ( 2 ).…”

Cloning and Characterization of a Novel Endo-Type Metal-Independent Alginate Lyase from the Marine Bacteria Vibrio sp. Ni1

“…Original research on alginate lyase was from Pseudomonas aeruginosa [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Currently, alginate lyase have been investigated in many species, including marine algae, marine mollusks, fungi, viruses and a wide range of marine and terrestrial bacteria [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. Based on the homology of the primary sequences, alginate lyases are classified into twelve polysaccharide lyase families including PL5, PL6, PL7, PL14, PL15, PL17, PL18, PL31, PL32, PL34, PL36, and PL39, most belong to PL5 and PL7 [ 8 , 14 , 15 ].…”

Comparison of Alginate Utilization Pathways in Culturable Bacteria Isolated From Arctic and Antarctic Marine Environments

“…Metagenomic data analysis showed that bacteria with the ability to utilize alginates in the Arctic and Antarctic regions have high abundance and diversity ( Matos et al, 2016 ). However, only a few culturable marine bacteria with alginate utilization ability have been isolated from the polar regions so far ( Lavin et al, 2016 ; Xing et al, 2015 ). Systematic investigation of alginate metabolism pathways in bacteria from both polar regions is still lacking.…”