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Updated: May 9, 2026

Prospecting Microbial Strains for Bioremediation and Probiotics Development for Metaorganism Research and Preservation
Published on: October 31, 2019
Characterization of cultivable bacteria from brazilian sponges
Juliana F Santos-Gandelman1, Olinda C S Santos, Paula V M Pontes
1Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Av. Carlos Chagas Filho, 373, Cidade Universitária, 21941-902, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, julsan76@gmail.com.
Abstract:
Among 1,236 colony-forming units (CFU) associated with 11 species of marine sponges collected from a Brazilian coast, a total of 100 morphologically different bacterial strains were analyzed. The phylogenetic diversity of the bacterial isolates was assessed by 16S rRNA gene amplification-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis, using AluI restriction endonuclease. The RFLP fingerprinting resulted in 21 different patterns with good resolution for the identification of the bacterial isolates at the genus level. The genus Bacillus was the most commonly encountered genus, followed by Kocuria. Regarding the relationship between the morphotypes and species of marine sponges, Mycale microsigmatosa presented major diversity, followed by Dragmacidon reticulatum and Polymastia janeirensis. An antibiotic susceptibility profile of the 100 sponge-associated bacterial strains was determined by the disk diffusion method, and we observed a variable resistance profile, with 15 % of the bacteria being multiresistant. In addition, 71 of 100 strains were able to produce biofilm. These 71 strains were divided into 20 strong biofilm producers, 10 moderate biofilm producers, and 41 weak biofilm producers. The plasmid profile of the 100 bacterial strains was analyzed and 38 (38 %) of these samples possessed one or more plasmids. Studies like this are important to increase the information on these associated bacteria found off the coastline of Brazil, a place which has rich biodiversity that is still unknown.
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