First records of sponge-associated Actinomycetes from two coastal sponges from Mauritius

  • Sandeep Shivram Beepat University of Mauritius
  • Chandani Appadoo University of Mauritius
  • Daniel Edgard Pierre Marie Mauritius Oceanography Institute
  • Shamimtaz Bibi Sadally University of Mauritius
  • Jose Pavao Mendes Paula University of Lisbon
  • Kannan Sivakumar Annamalai University
  • Rashmi Ragothama Rao Annamalai University
  • Maryam Salah Annamalai University
Keywords: Neopetrosia exigua, Spheciospongia vagabunda, sponge, Actinobacteria, Mauritius

Abstract

Actinobacteria commonly known as actinomycetes are often constituents of the sponge-associated bacterial communities and are well known producers of bioactive compounds.  In the present study, 7 actinomycete species representing 3 genera were successfully isolated from the sponge Spheciospongia vagabunda (Ridley, 1884) and Neopetrosia exigua (Kirkpatrick, 1900) from Mauritius.  The sponge N. exigua hosted a higher actinomycete diversity resulting in 71% of the total number of actinomycete strains recorded.  Streptomyces sp. and Micrococcus sp. were the most common actinomycete genera, both representing 43% of the total actinomycetes isolated from both host sponges.  Actinomycete Isolation Agar was the most effective medium for the selection of actinobacteria, yielding in 57% of the total actinobacterial strains isolated.  This study is the first to report on sponge-associated actinomycete communities from Mauritius and paves the way for future sponge-associated actinobacterial research in the Mascarene region.

Author Biography

Sandeep Shivram Beepat, University of Mauritius
MPhil/PhD Student in Marine Ecology
Published
2016-11-13
Section
Articles

Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 2683-6416
print ISSN: 0856-860X