Isolation of marine bacteria in Ambon Bay with Potential biotechnological features

Ambon Bay is situated in Wallacea biogeographical area. Despite various studies on marine natural resources reported from this bay, limited information is available on marine bacteria producers of compounds with potential biotechnological applications. We report here preliminary results of our isolation attempt of this bacteria group from Ambon Bay. Nine different isolates were obtained, but only eight indicated potential as producers of compounds with biotechnological potential. Two isolates indicated agarolytic bacteria characteristics, whereas one showed the properties of exopolysaccharide (EPS) producing bacteria. Three isolates produced various pigments. Two were identified tentatively as members of actinomycetes, a group known as a prolific antimicrobial compounds producers. Preliminary identification of each isolates cell morphologies revealed the dominance of cocci-shaped bacteria. Most of them showed optimal growth in 1 to 7 days when incubated at 30°C. These results indicated that Ambon Bay waters and surrounding area could harbour marine bacteria with potential features for biotechnological applications. Taprobanica special ed. 2nd Intl Symposium of Alfred Wallace and the Wallacea