Cultivable Sponge-Associated Actinobacteria from Coastal Area of Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

In this study, 16 marine sponge samples collected from EasternMediterranean Sea were used for the isolation of sponge-associated Actinobacteria. Different media andpre-treatment methods were applied for the isolation experiments. In total,7578 actinomycetes colonies were observed on the primary isolation plates, and20 representative isolates were selected for further studies based on theirmorphologies and chemical profiles. These isolates were investigated for theirantimicrobial activities, seawater requirements and 16S rRNA gene sequences.The phylogenetic analysis revealed that 80% of the isolated Actinobacteria was a member of the Streptomyces genus. All the isolatesshowed no absolute requirement for seawater. Fifteen of the selected isolatesexhibited antimicrobial activity against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycinresistant Enterococcus faecium,whereas 3 isolates were active against Candidaalbicans.