Isolation Of Marine Sponge-associated Fungi From Bidong And Karah Islands

• Main Authors: Mohamad, Nur Hanisah, Mohd Omar, Suhaila, Zainal Abidin, Zaima Azira, Saad, Shahbudin, Mohamad, Mohd Azrul Naim
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: QR Microbiology
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/104448/1/KOS%20PG%20CLQ%202019.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/104448/2/PosterPGKOSC2019_G1520128NurHanisahMohamad%202.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/104448/

Sponges are sessile, benthic organisms that are known to host diverse microorganisms including Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya. Prokaryotic microbial communities associated with sponges have been well studied by both cultivation-dependent and cultivation-independent approaches, whereas eukaryotic microbial are the last frontier of microbial diversity yet to be fully characterized. This study was aimed to isolate sponge-associated fungi from Bidong and Karah Islands using various selective media to maximize the number of fungal isolates and directly screened their functional properties based on the ability to produce cellulase and halogenase. Nine different types of sponge samples were collected from Bidong and Karah Islands using SCUBA equipment. The sponge specimens were cut into small pieces and ground until they became slurry. One millilitre of the slurry was plated onto eight selective isolation media including, potato dextrose agar, 3% malt extract agar, malt extract enriched with potassium bromide, malt extract enriched with sodium chloride, malt extract enriched with potassium fluoride, Reasoner’s 2A agar, Azo-carboxymethyl-cellulose agar and Azo-xylan agar. All media were supplemented with Streptomycin and Gentamycin to prevent the growth of bacteria. The isolates were incubated at 30oC for two weeks. A total of 463 potential actinomycetes were isolated. The highest number of isolates were obtained from Sponge B which was collected from Bidong Island. Azo-carboxymethyl-cellulose agar showed the highest percentage of fungal isolates recovery (15%) while malt extract enriched with potassium fluoride showed the lowest percentage for fungal recovery (9%). The dominance of bacteria contamination can inhibit the colonization of fungi. Therefore the use of various selective media could help to decrease the number of unwanted bacteria and important for the pre-screening of cellulase and halogenase-producing fungi. These findings also proved the potential of marine sponges in Bidong and Karah Islands possessed as an important source of fungi on producing cellulase and halogenase.