Isolation of marine bacteria producers of bioactive compounds from Ambon Bay

Ambon Bay is situated in the Wallacea biogeographical area. Despite various studies on marine natural resources reported from Ambon Bay, limited information is available on marine bacteria producing bioactive compounds. Reported here are the preliminary results of our attempt to isolate this group of bacteria from Ambon Bay. There were at least nine different isolates obtained. Two isolates exhibited the characteristics of agarolytic bacteria, whereas one isolate showed the properties of exopolysaccharide (EPS) producing bacteria. Three isolates produced various pigments. The other three were identified tentatively as members of Actinomycetes, a group with members known to be prolific producers of antimicrobial compounds. Preliminary identification of cell morphologies of each isolates 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 indicate that Ambon Bay waters and the surrounding area could harbor marine bacteria with potential properties conducive to biotechnological applications. Second International Conference on AR Wallace and the Wallacea, Wakatobi, 10-13 November 2013