GROWTH INHIBITION OF CLINICALLY RESISTANT BACTERIA BY MARINE BACTERIA ASSOCIATED WITH SPONGE Aaptos sp.

Abstract

The improper and uncontrolled uses of antibiotics against pathogenic bacteria have resulted in
the occurrence of Multi Drugs Resistant (MDR) strains. There is now an urgency to find alternative
antibiotics to combat the MDR strains. Sponge associated microorganisms are among of the most
interesting and promising marine natural product sources, which produce polyketide and non
ribosomal peptide products with various biological activities. In this study, marine bacteria were
isolated from sponge Aaptos sp. collected from North Java Sea, and were screened for antibacterial
activity against MDR strains. Three out of 64 bacterial isolates were successfully screened and were
found to be active against MDR strains, in which 2 isolates (SPA1 and SPA5) were active against
resistant strain Escherichia coli and 1 isolate (SPA21) against resistant strain Proteus sp., respectively.
These active isolates were also capable of amplifying NRPS gene fragments necessary for the
biosynthesis of non ribosomal peptides. The identification results revealed that the active isolates are
Halomonas aquamarina, Alpha proteobacterium, and Pseudoalteromonas luteviolacea