SCREENING AND MOLECULAR IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL EXOPOLY-SACCHARIDES (EPSs) PRODUCING MARINE BACTERIA FROM THE BHAVNAGAR COAST, GUJARAT

Marine environment is a complex habitat defined by a wide fluctuation in conditions such as pH, temperature, nutrient availability, osmotic pressure and salinity. Because of these various extreme environmental conditions, it harbors varieties of biodiversity such as bacteria, algae, fungi, coral reefs and sea weeds, as compared to terrestrial environment. For adaptation in these conditions marine organisms developed new adaptative strategies like synthesis of secondary metabolites. Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) is one of the important secondary metabolites produced by marine organisms. The present study focuses on the isolation of marine bacteria from different sites of Bhavnagar coast Gujarat, India and screening for EPSs producing marine bacteria by various approaches viz., using fluorescent Calcofluor white dye, Congo-red and trypan-blue agar plate assay method. Quantification of EPSs was done by using phenol-sulphuric acid method for total carbohydrate content. In this work marine bacterial isolate Terribacillus saccharophilus strain PS – 47 gave copious amount of EPSs 1052 µg/ml. Isolate will be further selected for use in various biotechnological applications.