Poster Presentation Australian Society for Microbiology Annual Scientific Meeting 2014

DIVERSITY, ANTIMICROBIAL AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF ENDOPHYTIC BACTERIA FROM CYMBOPOGON CITRATUS (LEMON GRASS). (#202)

Mushafau A. Akinsanya 1 2 , Joo K Goh 2 , Siew P. Lim 2 , Adeline S.Y Ting 2
  1. Department of Medical Biochemistry,, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Lagos State University,, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria
  2. MONASH University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, SG, Malaysia

Bacterial endophytes communities of healthy Cymbopogon citratus generally known as Lemon grass were studied by exploring their enzymatic, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The diversity study of the endophytes revealed 15 culturable endophytic bacteria with 5-genus which were isolated from surface-sterilized tissues of Cymbopogon citratus and taxonomically characterized based on sequencing of their 16S rRNA gene. The analysis of their 16S rDNA sequences with their nearest relatives in the GenBank (89-100% identity) revealed the following corresponding 15 species of- Bacillus, Enterobacter, Pseudomonas, Citrobacter, and Acinetobacter. The Bacillus genus was prevalent in the plant tissue with 9 species. We observed that 4 isolates from the leaves appeared to have broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity against human pathogens tested which include Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus auerus, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella typhi, Proteus vulgaris, Klebsiella pneumoniea,  Escherichia coli, Streptococccus pyogenes and Candida albicans with zone of inhibition ranging from 6.3 to 11.7 ±0.5 mm. LGL-1 (Acinetobacter baumannii) and LGL-4 (Enterobacter cancerogenus) isolates appeared to have relatively strong inhibitory effect against the pathogens (zone of inhibition ranging from 6.7 to 11.7 ±0.5 mm) when compared with Tetracycline (30μg) (zone of inhibition 6.0 to 24.0 ±0.5 mm). In addition, the crude extracts of the metabolites of the isolates exhibited high DPPH scavenging properties ranging from 67-80% when compared with ascorbic acid of 92%. In conclusion, our study revealed a number of beneficial isolates for antioxidant and antimicrobial applications.