Association of Alcaligenes Faecalis Strain in Juvenile Earthworms, from Cocoons of Eudrilus Eugeniae

Abstract

Cocoons of earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae were collected from vermiculture bed and found that it had antibacterial activity. The size of zone of inhibition was directly proportional to the size of cocoons examined. Along with nutritious fluid and embryos, culturable bacterial community was found inside the cocoons. Bacterial colonies were isolated from the trails of newly hatched, juvenile worms in the nutrient agar medium and examined. Gram negative, rod shaped bacterium was found to be abundant in the trails of juvenile earthworms. Polymerase chain reaction was performed from this bacterium to amplify the gene of 16S rRNA and analyzed. Subsequent bi-directional DNA sequencing revealed that this abundant bacterium is highly related to 16S rRNA gene sequence of a strain, Alcaligenes faecalis. Based on available literature, we hypothesize that this bacterium could be symbiotically associated with cocoons of earthworms.