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. 2013 Nov 13;8(11):e78992.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0078992. eCollection 2013.

Antimicrobial activity of heterotrophic bacterial communities from the marine sponge Erylus discophorus (Astrophorida, Geodiidae)

Ana Patrícia Graça  1 , Joana Bondoso, Helena Gaspar, Joana R Xavier, Maria Cândida Monteiro, Mercedes de la Cruz, Daniel Oves-Costales, Francisca Vicente, Olga Maria Lage
Affiliations

Antimicrobial activity of heterotrophic bacterial communities from the marine sponge Erylus discophorus (Astrophorida, Geodiidae)

Ana Patrícia Graça et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Heterotrophic bacteria associated with two specimens of the marine sponge Erylus discophorus were screened for their capacity to produce bioactive compounds against a panel of human pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus wild type and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumanii, Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus), fish pathogen (Aliivibrio fischeri) and environmentally relevant bacteria (Vibrio harveyi). The sponges were collected in Berlengas Islands, Portugal. Of the 212 isolated heterotrophic bacteria belonging to Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes, 31% produced antimicrobial metabolites. Bioactivity was found against both Gram positive and Gram negative and clinically and environmentally relevant target microorganisms. Bioactivity was found mainly against B. subtilis and some bioactivity against S. aureus MRSA, V. harveyi and A. fisheri. No antifungal activity was detected. The three most bioactive genera were Pseudovibrio (47.0%), Vibrio (22.7%) and Bacillus (7.6%). Other less bioactive genera were Labrenzia, Acinetobacter, Microbulbifer, Pseudomonas, Gordonia, Microbacterium, Micrococcus and Mycobacterium, Paenibacillus and Staphylococcus. The search of polyketide I synthases (PKS-I) and nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) genes in 59 of the bioactive bacteria suggested the presence of PKS-I in 12 strains, NRPS in 3 strains and both genes in 3 strains. Our results show the potential of the bacterial community associated with Erylus discophorus sponges as producers of bioactive compounds.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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