Ariole C. N  , Uchegbu S. C  

Department of Microbiology, University of Port Harcourt, P.M.B. 5323, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Marine Science, 2016, Vol. 6, No. 40   doi: 10.5376/ijms.2016.06.0040
Received: 11 Aug., 2016    Accepted: 14 Oct., 2016    Published: 27 Oct., 2016

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Ariole C.N., and Uchegbu S.C., 2016, Assessment of Phytase Producing Ability of Marine Fish Intestinal Bacteria and Yeasts, International Journal of Marine Science, 6(40): 1-6 (doi:10.5376/ijms.2016.06.0040)

The phytase producing bacteria and yeasts associated with the intestinal tract of two marine fish species (Liza grandsquamis and Ethmalosa fimbriata) from New Calabar River in the Niger Delta were established. Spread plate technique was employed for isolation of phytase producing bacteria and yeasts using modified phytase-screening medium (MPSM). The pH of the medium was adjusted to 7.0 and 4.5 for isolation of bacteria and yeasts respectively. The isolates were further evaluated for quantitative phytase assay with MPSM broth. The phytase producing bacterial genera in the digestive tract of fish species were identified as Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Enterobacter while the isolated phytase producing yeasts genera were Saccharomyces and Candida. Among bacterial phytate degraders, Bacillus sp. isolated from Liza grandsquamis intestine showed highest phytase activity (50.09 ± 0.15 U/ml) while Enterobacter sp. isolated from Ethmalosa fimbriata intestine showed the lowest phytase activity (2.75 ± 0.32 U/ml).  Among yeasts phytate degraders, Saccharomyces sp. isolated from Liza grandsquamis intestine showed highest phytase activity (12.5 ± 0.27 U/ml) while Candida sp. isolated from Ethmalosa fimbriata intestine exhibited the lowest phytase activity (3.66 ± 0.71 U/ml). These genera of aerobic microorganisms may take part in phytate degradation in the intestine of marine organisms. Their ability to degrade phytate may provide environmental benefits to defeat the plant phytate anti-nutritional effects.

Marine fish; Intestinal tract; Bacteria; Yeast; Phytase activity