Characterization of Deep Sea Fish Gut Bacteria with Antagonistic Potential, from Centroscyllium fabricii (Deep Sea Shark)

Abstract

The bacterial isolates from Centroscyllium fabricii (deep sea shark) gut were screened for antagonistic activity by cross-streak method and disc diffusion assay. This study focuses on strain BTSS-3, which showed antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria including Salmonella Typhimurium, Proteus vulgaris, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus circulans, Bacillus macerans and Bacillus pumilus. BTSS3 was subjected to phenotypic characterization using biochemical tests, SEM imaging, exoenzyme profiling and antibiotic susceptibility tests. Comparative 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis indicated that this strain belonged to the genus Bacillus, with high (98%) similarity to 16S rDNA sequences of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. The chemical nature of the antibacterial substance was identified by treatment with proteolytic enzymes. The antibacterial activity was reduced by the action of these enzymes pointing out its peptide nature. It was observed from the growth and production kinetics that the bacteriocin was produced in the eighth hour of incubation, i.e., during the mid-log growth phase of the bacteria.