Abstract. Lischer K, Putra ABRD, Guslianto BW, Avilla F, Sitorus SG, Nugraha Y, Sarmoko. 2020. Short Communication: The emergence and rise of indigenous thermophilic bacteria exploration from hot springs in Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 5474-5481. Indonesia is an archipelagic country located in the pacific ring of fire, and is estimated to cause numerous hot springs spread across the country. In addition, small living microbes have been explored in these locations since 1985. These microbes possess the ability to survive in areas with high temperature (more than 40oC-90oC), and are therefore termed thermophiles. Hence, massive explorations have been conducted on Java island and other unexplored areas at Sumatra to Papua in New Guinea islands. Moreover, a total of 71 hot springs characterized by the presence of thermophilic bacteria have been explored in Indonesia. These investigations ensue with various approaches, including through conventional and microbiological, 16S rRNA, as well as whole-genome sequencing methods. In addition to species exploration, the application of thermophiles has become a topic of interest from 1999, especially based on thermostable enzymes with the capacity to maintain activity at high-temperature conditions. These include amylase, protease, lipase, xylanase, esterase, and cellulase as the most common isolated form, which indicates the existence of significant extractable potentials. Hence, there is a need for further research in terms of both exploration and application purposes.

A Gram-stain-negative, oxidase- and catalase-positive, facultative anaerobic motile bacterium, designated strain OG9-811T, was isolated from the gut of an oyster collected in the Yellow Sea, Republic of Korea. The strain grew at 10–37 °C, pH 6.0–9.0 and with 0.5–10% (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain OG9-811T affiliated with the genus Vibrio , with the highest sequence similarity of 98.2% to Vibrio coralliilyticus ATCC BAA-450T followed by Vibrio variabilis R-40492T (98.0 %), Vibrio hepatarius LMG 20362T (97.7 %) and Vibrio neptunius LMG 20536T (97.6 %); other relatives were Vibrio tritonius JCM 16456T (97.4 %), Vibrio fluvialis NBRC 103150T (97.0 %) and Vibrio furnissii CIP 102972T (97.0 %). The complete genome of strain OG9-811T comprised two chromosomes of a total 4 807 684 bp and the G+C content was 50.2 %. Results of analysis based on the whole genome sequence showed the distinctiveness of strain OG9-811T. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) values between strain OG9-811T and the closest strains V. coralliilyticus ATCC BAA-450T, V. variabilis R-40492T, V. hepatarius LMG 20362T, V. neptunius KCTC 12702T , V. tritonius JCM 16456T, V. fluvialis ATCC 33809T and V. furnissi CIP 102972T were 73.0, 72.6, 73.3, 73.0, 72.7, 78.5 and 77.8 %, respectively, while the digital DNA–DNA hybridization values between strain OG9-811T and the above closely related strains were 20.8, 21.2, 20.8, 21.7, 20.7, 23.2 and 22.4 %, respectively. The major fatty acids of strain OG9-811T were summed feature 3 (C16:1 ω7c and/or C16:1 ω6c), summed feature 8 (C18:1 ω6c and/or C18:1 ω7c) and C16:0. The polar lipids contained phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol. Strain OG9-811T contained Q-8 as a quinone. On the basis of polyphasic taxonomic characteristics, strain OG9-811T is considered to represent a novel species, for which the name Vibrio ostreae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is OG9-811T (=KCTC 72623T=GDMCC 1.2610T).

Objective: Breast cancer is the most common case of cancers. Apitheraphy has been traditionally used for abundance diseases. This study aims to evaluate and compare the anti-breast cancer activity of melittin from Indonesia's Apic cerana as a potential drug for treating breast cancer. Methods: Apis cerana bee venom (BV) was collected from a bee farm in Cikurutung, Bandung using an electrical venom device. The BV was then purified using the ÄKTA Start system and HiTrap™ SP HP cation exchange chromatography column. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was used to identify melittin based on its molecular mass and lowry's protein assay to measure melittin concentration. Melittin cytotoxicity was measured with brine shrimp lethality test (BSLT), while MCF-7 breast cancer cells MTT assay was used to measure its anti-breast cancer activity, based on inhinition rate. Results: 95.432 μg/mL melittin is purified from 62.8 mg/L BV, using cation exchange chromatography. Melittin in vitro analysis with MCF-7 MTT assay is used to determine anti-breast cancer activity in dose dependent manner. Furthermore, melttin BSLT result showed a LC 50 16.67675 μg/mL. Therefore, the MTT assay was conducted in 5, 10 and 15 μg/mL with MCF-7 inhibition values of 0.768 ± 0.014, 3.303 ± 0.011, and 35.714 ± 0.009 %, respectively. Conclusion: Indonesia's Apis cerana has the potential to be used as a therapeutic peptide for breast cancer treatment.

A Gram-stain-negative, long rod, oxidase and catalase-positive strain WSW3-B12T was isolated from red algae on tidal flats in the West Sea, Korea. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that the strain WSW3-B12T had the highest sequence similarity, 92.7%, to Flexithrix dorotheae DSM 6795T, followed by Rapidithrix thailandica TISTR 1750T at 90.8% in the family Flammeovirgaceae of the phylum Bacteroidota. The whole genome sequence determined using both the Nanopore and Illumina platforms revealed that the complete genome consists of 29 contigs, among which contig 1 was a circular chromosome, while the remaining 28 contigs were plasmids. The size of the genome was 10.1 Mbp and the G+C content was 34.1%. The average nucleotide identity (ANI), digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH), average amino acid identity (AAI), and percentage of conserved proteins (POCP), phylogenomic-related indexes between the strain WSW3-B12T and the closest strain Flexithrix dorotheae DSM 6795T, were 76.6%, 19.9%, 57.2%, and 55.6%, respectively, which were all lower than the threshold values to support the creation of a novel genus. A comprehensive genome analysis revealed that the strain WSW3-B12T harbored many of the key genes involved in central metabolism in the main chromosome and also carried important genes for the production of vitamins, quinone, and antimicrobial resistance on the plasmids. The strain also carried genes that are involved in the metabolism of heavy metals such as arsenic, cobalt, copper, and iron on both the chromosome and plasmids. Furthermore, the genome of the strain was highly enriched with carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), carrying a total of 241 CAZymes. Moreover, a complete CRISPR/Cas system was detected on plasmid 20. The major fatty acids of the strain were iso-C15:0 and C16:1 ω5. The polar lipids contained phosphatidylethanolamine, four unidentified lipids, and four glycolipids. The respiratory quinone was menaquinone 7. Based on the phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, and genomic analyses, the strain WSW3-B12T could be assigned to a novel species and novel genus within the family Flammeovirgaceae, for which the name Chondrinema litorale gen. nov., sp. nov. (type strain WSW3-B12T = KCTC 82707T = GDMCC 1.3198T) is proposed.