Exploring Antimicrobial Potentials of Melanin from A Black Yeast Strain

Abstract

Melanin is a pervasive pigment that synthesized in all living organisms from prokaryotes to eukaryotes by polymerization or hydroxylation of organic compounds. Melanin is important for survival of fungi in extreme conditions, like as high salinity that are typical for hypersaline environment. The ascomycetous black yeast Hortaea werneckii was isolated from such environment was identified as a potential source of melanin. Melanin has different applications in many fields like as cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, Hortaea werneckii was isolated from hypersaline Egyptian habitat on enrichment media. Our study was carried out to study the ability of Hortaea to produce melanin and optimization of culture conditions that enhance the production. Detection of different genes responsible for production of melanin from the isolate was also studied. The optimum cultivation conditions that led to a maximum melanin yield was found to be; temperature 22oC and pH 6.0 achieving 48.5 mg/L. Also, extracted melanin showed antimicrobial activity against different pathogens like as, Staphylococcus sp, Streptococcus pyogenes, Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Bacillus subtilis, Erwinia carotovora.