Marine-derived biosurfactants have gained significant attention due to their structural and functional diversity. Biosurfactant production was performed using bacteria associated with Callyspongia diffusa, a marine sponge inhabiting the southern coast of India. A total of 101 sponge-associated bacteria were isolated on different media, of which 29 isolates showed positive result for biosurfactant production. Among the 29 positive isolates, four were selected based on highest emusification activity and were identified based on 16S rDNA sequence analysis. These isolates were identified as Bacillus subtilis MB-7, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens MB-101, Halomonas sp. MB-30 and Alcaligenes sp. MB-I9. The 16S rDNA nucleotide sequences were deposited in GenBank with accession numbers KF493730, KJ540939, KJ414418 and KJ540940, respectively. Based on the highest oil displacement activity and effective surface tension reduction potential, the isolate B. amyloliquefaciens MB-101 was selected for further optimization and structural delineation. The production of biosurfactant by the isolate was significantly enhanced up to 6.76 g/l with optimal concentration values of 2.83 % for glycerol, 2.65 % for peptone, 20.11 mM for ferrous sulfate and 74 h of incubation by employing factorial design. The structural features of the purified biosurfactant from B. amyloliquefaciens MB-101 showed similarity with lipopeptide class of biosurfactant. In conclusion, the present study emphasizes the utilization of marine sponge-associated bacteria for the production of biosurfactant that may find various applications.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13205-014-0242-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Esterases catalyze the hydrolysis of ester bonds in fatty acid esters with short-chain acyl groups. Due to the widespread applications of lipolytic enzymes in various industrial applications, there continues to be an interest in novel esterases with unique properties. Marine ecosystems have long been acknowledged as a significant reservoir of microbial biodiversity and in particular of bacterial enzymes with desirable characteristics for industrial use, such as for example cold adaptation and activity in the alkaline pH range. We employed a functional metagenomic approach to exploit the enzymatic potential of one particular marine ecosystem, namely the microbiome of the deep sea sponge Stelletta normani. Screening of a metagenomics library from this sponge resulted in the identification of a number of lipolytic active clones. One of these encoded a highly, cold-active esterase 7N9, and the recombinant esterase was subsequently heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. The esterase was classified as a type IV lipolytic enzyme, belonging to the GDSAG subfamily of hormone sensitive lipases. Furthermore, the recombinant 7N9 esterase was biochemically characterized and was found to be most active at alkaline pH (8.0) and displays salt tolerance over a wide range of concentrations. In silico docking studies confirmed the enzyme's activity toward short-chain fatty acids while also highlighting the specificity toward certain inhibitors. Furthermore, structural differences to a closely related mesophilic E40 esterase isolated from a marine sediment metagenomics library are discussed.

Microbiomes have highly important roles for ecosystem functioning and carry out key functions that support planetary health, including nutrient cycling, climate regulation, and water filtration. Microbiomes are also intimately associated with complex multicellular organisms such as humans, other animals, plants, and insects and perform crucial roles for the health of their hosts.

Two brightly red-pigmented, motile, rod and triangular-shaped, extremely halophilic archaea were isolated from saltern crystallizer ponds located in peninsular coast of India. They grew optimally at salt concentrations between 25 and 35% and did not grow below 20% salts. Thus, these isolates are among the most halophilic organisms known within the domain Bacteria. The isolate HA3 showed optimal growth at 42°C whereas HA9 showed optimal growth at 52°C. These haloversatile microorganisms were presumed as new strains of Haloarcula. H. quadrata (HA3) showed unusual broad spectrum antibiotic resistance pattern. The isolate HA9 was named as H. vallismortis var. cellulolytica due to its peculiar cellulolytic activity, though full taxonomic description is pending.