iChip increases the success of cultivation of TBT-resistant and TBT-degrading bacteria from estuarine sediment

Abstract

Standard methods of microbial cultivation only enable the isolation of a fraction of the total environmental bacteria. Numerous techniques have been developed to increase the success of isolation and cultivation in the laboratory, some of which derive from diffusion chambers. In a diffusion chamber, environmental bacteria in agar medium are put back in the environment to grow as close to their natural conditions as possible, only separated from the environment by semi-permeable membranes. In this study, the iChip, a device that possesses hundreds of mini diffusion chambers, was used to isolate tributyltin (TBT) resistant and degrading bacteria. IChip was shown to be efficient at increasing the number of cultivable bacteria compared to standard methods. TBT-resistant strains belonging to Oceanisphaera sp., Pseudomonas sp., Bacillus sp. and Shewanella sp. were identified from Liverpool Dock sediment. Among the isolates in the present study, only members of Pseudomonas sp. were able to use TBT as a sole carbon source. It is the first time that members of the genus Oceanisphaera have been shown to be TBT-resistant. Although iChip has been used in the search for molecules of biomedical interest here we demonstrate its promising application in bioremediation.

Use of modified ichip for the cultivation of thermo-tolerant microorganisms from the hot spring

“…Isolation efforts inspired by the ichip were also performed using many kinds of sediments, such as marine sediments, mangrove sediment, and estuarine sediment, etc.. These studies have also helped us obtain many unculturable microorganisms, such as Actinomycetota resources and harmful substance degrading bacteria resources [39][40][41]. Generally speaking, this platform has been shown to increase microbial recovery from 5-to 300-fold, depending on the study [19].…”

Unlocking the Pandora’s Box of Uncultivable Microbes: The “iChip” As A Gateway to Antimicrobial Drug Discovery

“…However, it is important to note that iChip has limitations. For example, not all bacteria that grow well in iChip are suitable for further development on synthetic media, and subculturing is subsequently carried out in a conventional laboratory setting [41]. iChip is continuously being modified to enhance further not just the number of cells cultivated but also to accommodate the needs of specific microorganisms, like the recent study on the use of iChip for cultivating thermo-tolerant microorganisms from a hot spring [42].…”