Soraya A. Sabry

Metal tolerance and antibiotic resistance patterns of a bacterial population isolated from sea water.

The total aerobic heterotrophic and metal‐resistant bacterial communities were studied in marine water. The resistance patterns, expressed as MICs, for 81 bacterial isolates to eight heavy metals were surveyed by using the agar dilution method. A great proportion of the isolates were sensitive to cadmium (99%), mercury (91%), zinc (84%) and cobalt (83%). On the other hand, 94%, 40%, 35% and 22% were resistant to lead, nickel, arsenate and copper, respectively. The majority of the tested strains (95.06%) were multiple metal‐resistant, with pentametal resistance as the major pattern (25.9%). The response of the isolates to 11 tested antibiotics was tested and ranged from complete resistance to total sensitivity and multiple antibiotic resistance was exhibited by 70.38% of the total isolated population. The highest incidence of metal‐antibiotic double resistance existed between lead and all antibiotics (100%), copper and penicillin (95%) and nickel and ampicillin (83.3%).

Antibacterial and anticancer activity of ε-poly-L-lysine (ε-PL) produced by a marine Bacillus subtilis sp.

A marine Bacillus subtilis SDNS was isolated from sea water in Alexandria and identified using 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The bacterium produced a compound active against a number of gram negativeve bacteria. Moreover, the anticancer activity of this bacterium was tested against three different human cell lines (Hela S3, HepG2 and CaCo). The highest inhibition activity was recorded against Hela S3 cell line (77.2%), while almost no activity was recorded towards CaCo cell line. HPLC and TLC analyses supported evidence that Bacillus subtilis SDNS product is ϵ;‐poly‐L‐lysine. To achieve maximum production, Plackett‐Burman experimental design was applied. A 1.5 fold increase was observed when Bacillus subtilis SDNS was grown in optimized medium composed of g/l: (NH4)2SO4, 15; K2HPO4, 0.3; KH2PO4, 2; MgSO4 · 7 H2O, 1; ZnSO4 · 7 H2O, 0; FeSO4 · 7 H2O, 0.03; glucose, 25; yeast extract, 1, pH 6.8. Under optimized culture condition, a product value of 76.3 mg/l could be obtained. According to available literature, this is the first announcement for the production of ϵ;‐poly‐L‐lysine (ϵ;‐PL) by a member of genus Bacillus. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Degradation of poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) and its copolymer poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) by a marine Streptomyces sp. SNG9.

A marine Streptomyces sp. SNG9 was characterized by its ability to utilize poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and its copolymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate P (3HB-co-HV). The bacterium grew efficiently in a simple mineral liquid medium enriched with 0.1 % poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) powder as the sole carbon source. Cells excreted PHB depolymerase and degraded the polymer particles to complete clarity in 4 days. The degradation activity was detectable by the formation of a clear zone around the colony (petri plates) or a clear depth under the colony (test tubes). The expression of PHB depolymerase was repressed by the presence of simple soluble carbon sources. Bacterial degradation of the naturally occurring sheets of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and its copolymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Morphological alterations of the polymers sheets were evidence for bacterial hydrolysis.

Phylogenetic diversity and antimicrobial activity of marine bacteria associated with the soft coral Sarcophyton glaucum

Coral reefs are the most biodiverse and biologically productive of all marine ecosystems. Corals harbor diverse and abundant prokaryotic groups. However, little is known about the diversity of coral‐associated microorganisms. We used molecular techniques to identify and compare the culturable bacterial assemblages associated with the soft coral Sarcophyton glaucum from the Red sea. Different media were utilized for microbial isolation, and the phylogeny of the culturable bacteria associated with the coral was analyzed based on 16S rDNA sequencing. The coral associated bacteria were found to be representatives within the Gammaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes. Antimicrobial activities of twenty bacterial isolates were tested against four pathogenic bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Vibrio fluvialis) and three fungi (Penicillium sp., Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans). A relatively high proportion of bacterial strains displayed distinct antibacterial and antifungal activities, suggesting that soft coral‐associated microorganisms may aid their host in protection against marine pathogens. Members of genera Bacillus and Pseudomonas had the highest proportion of antimicrobial activity which supported the hypothesis that they might play a protective role in the coral hosts.

Production of α-mannanase by B. subtilis from agro-industrial by-products: screening and optimization

We have demonstrated that a mixture of wheat bran (35 g l-1), as a main substrate, and palm seed powder (10 g l-1), as a co-substrate, is appropriate for β-mannanase production by Bacillus subtilis. A 2n factorial experimental design was employed as a primary step for medium optimization. The enzyme activity titters obtained at the optimized growth condition were equivalent to about 319% of the β-mannanse activity and 114% of the specific activity levels reached by a galactomannan-based culture.

Association of some virulence genes with antibiotic resistance among uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from urinary tract infection patients in Alexandria, Egypt: A hospital-based study

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is the infecting agent most frequently involved in urinary tract infections (UTIs) worldwide. UPEC resistance to commonly used antibiotics represents a major health problem all over the world. Several factors have been associated with UPEC resistance to antibiotics. The present study deployed a molecular approach to explore the association between some UPEC virulence genes and antibiotic resistance among patients with UTI in Alexandria, Egypt. The study revealed a significant association between presence of the pap gene and resistance to gentamicin; however, it was not significantly associated with resistance to β-lactam antibiotics, quinolones, aminoglycosides, nitrofurantoin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. The genes sfa, aer and cnf1 were not significantly associated with UPEC resistance to any of the tested antibiotics. In conclusion, resistance of UPEC isolates in the present study could be attributed to other virulence factors.

Microbial-Physical Synthesis of Fe and Fe3O4 Magnetic Nanoparticles Using Aspergillus niger YESM1 and Supercritical Condition of Ethanol

Magnetic Fe and Fe3O4 magnetite nanoparticles are successfully synthesized using Aspergillus niger YESM 1 and supercritical condition of liquids. Aspergillus niger is used for decomposition of FeSO4 and FeCl3 to FeS and Fe2O3, respectively. The produced particles are exposed to supercritical condition of ethanol for 1 hour at 300°C and pressure of 850 psi. The phase structure and the morphology measurements yield pure iron and major Fe3O4 spherical nanoparticles with average size of 18 and 50 nm, respectively. The crystal size amounts to 9 nm for Fe and 8 nm for Fe3O4. The magnetic properties are measured to exhibit superparamagnetic- and ferromagnetic-like behaviors for Fe and Fe3O4 nanoparticles, respectively. The saturation magnetization amounts to 112 and 68 emu/g for Fe and Fe3O4, respectively. The obtained results open new route for using the biophysical method for large-scale production of highly magnetic nanoparticles to be used for biomedical applications.