An Assessment of Heavy Metal Concentrations in the Scleractinian Coral Tissues of Karimunjawa Archipelago, Indonesia

Karimunjawa archipelago, marine national park, has been considered to be a relatively pristine area that have more than 90 species of corals. This study was conducted to detect any concentrations heavy metal levels in the tissues of eight coral species. Based on life-forms, selected coral species are classified as massive (Porites lutea and Goniastrea retiformis), submassive (Galaxea fascicularis and Stylophora pistillata), foliaceous (Pavona decussata and Montipora foliosa) and branching/ramosa (Acropora aspera and Pocillopora damicornis). The concentration of heavy metals in the coral tissues were assessed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) technique. The present experimental results demonstrated that metal in coral tissues were no significant difference between sites. Concentration levels of five heavy metals were found to be in the order of Pb>Zn>Cr>Cd>Cu. Relating heavy metal concentrations to life-form corals, there were no significant differences of all the metals (except Pb), the highest concentration of Pb were found in foliaceous type of corals. The high level of Pb in foliaceous coral life-form (Pavona decussata and Montipora foliosa), indicating that these coral species are usefull as potential candidates of biomonitoring material for this metal. However, the use of corals as biomonitors should be considered carefully in biological and local environmental factors

Cadmium Removal by a Bioreducpiun Coral Bacterium Pseudoalteromonas SP. Strain Cd15 Isolated From the Tissue of Coral Goniastrea Aspera, Jepara Waters

Seventeen strains of bacterial symbionts which are resistant to heavy metals, were isolated from the tissue of coral Goniastrea aspera, from Awur Bay, Jepara Waters. Screening procedures involving solid and liquid synthetic media containing Cd2+, resulted in the selection of seven Cd resistant strains, which showed a quantitative removal of Cd2+ by range of 68-90% of the initial Cd2+ concentrations (5 ppm) tested. One of these strains, CD15, was selected further to examine its molecular and physiological characteristics. Based on 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing and microbial characterization, the CG15 isolate is closely related to Pseudoalteromonas sp. This is the first report on the natural Cd metal tolerance levels of coral bacteri

Ethical Perspectives of Sustainable Use of Reef's Invertebrates as a Source of Marine Natural Products

Among marine animals, reef's invertebrates are the most prolific producers of secondary metabolites and have become sources of great interest to natural product chemistry, since they provide a large proportion of bioactive compounds with different biological activities. Supply's problem has hampered the investigation of secondary metabolites from marine invertebrates, and many highly active compounds produced contribute to<10-6 % of the body-wet weight. Providing sufficient amounts of these biologically active substances, hence, may be a difficult task. In addition, it has often proven extremely difficult, and some cases impossible, to provide from invertebrates sufficient amounts of many of these substances due to limited amounts found in the producing organism, or to limited quantity of the organism itself, or to geographic, seasonal or sexual variations in the amounts and in the nature of produced secondary metabolites. There has an increasing concerns regarding the collecting reef's organisms for the discovery and development of pharmaceuticals since it has been perceived variously as sustaining and threatening conservation. There is an urgent need to take into account the bioethical considerations in anticipating the potential consequences of these activities and proposing management options for sustainable use of reef's invertebrates as the sources of bioactive compounds

Anti-bacterial Property of a Coral-associated Bacterium Bacillus SP. Against Coral Pathogenic Bbd (Black Band Disease)

Marine organisms such as corals are frequently colonized by bacteria that may be pathogenicto them. One of the means by which they are able to combat microbial attack is by chemical defense. Anumber of metabolites obtained from algae and invertebrates may be produced by associatedmicroorganisms. The purpose of study was to isolate and characterize of coral-associated bacteriahaving antibacterial potency against BBD coral disease. A coral-associated bacterium, KM2 isolate,was successfully screened for antibacteria production against indigenous BBD pathogenic bacteriabased on PCR amplification of the non-ribosomal peptide synthetase gene and was identified as closelyrelated to Bacilus sp based on its 16S rDNA.. KM2 strain was found to inhibit the growth of coralpathogenic BBD bacteria tested Myroides odoratimimus strain BBD1, Bacillus algicola Strain BBD2and Marine Alcaligenes bacterium Strain BBD3. This bacterium was found to inhibit the growth of allthose BBD coral pathogenic bacteria

Marine flatworm Acanthozoon sp.-associated bacteria with antibiotic property from the Java Sea

Neglected invertebrates, marine flatworms, have attracted global research interest due to their biological and chemical potential properties. The marine flatworms (Turbellaria), Phylum Platyhelminthes, belong to the Polycladida group. There are about 3000 species of free-living flatworms that make a living by hunting and eating other animals. A marine flatworm Acanthozoon sp. was used in this study due to its abundant presence in the site location. Staphylococcus epidermidis is an opportunistic pathogenic bacterium that was previously considered a harmless skin disease bacterium. This species is now considered to be in the first rank among the causative agents of nosocomial infection, specifically in the form of infections of the urinary tract, respiratory tract, and surgical site wounds. The aims of this study were to explore the biological diversity of marine flatworm-associated bacteria with antipathogenic properties and to detect the presence of polyketide synthase (PKS) and nonribosomal peptide synthetase NRPS gene clusters through a molecular approach. Recent studies have shown that S. epidermidis undergoes functional changes in the pro-inflammatory peptide family so that it has functions in immune evasion and biofilm development. Therefore, the search for new antimicrobial compounds is urgently needed due to the limited choice of antibiotic use. In the preliminary screening by overlay test, 7 out of 17 (41.2%) isolates showed antibacterial activities. These isolates were reselected and their activity confirmed by using plug agar and disk-diffusion methods. The FA02, FA03, FA05, FA07, FA13, FA16, and FA17 isolates demonstrated their inhibitory activities consistently against the causative agent of nosocomial infection S. epidermidis. Based on the morphological and 16S rRNA partial sequencing analysis, these isolates were closely related to the genus Virgibacillus, Brevibacterium, Alcanivorax, and Vibrio. None of these seven antibacterial strains possesses PKS-I and PKS-II, except NRPS genes for Virgibacillus salarius strain FA02, V. salarius strain FA16, and V. salarius strain FA17. The results of this study showed that bacteria associated with marine flatworms have future potential as a source of promising natural products for the development of antibiotics

Kandungan Logam Berat Timbal (Pb) Dan Tembaga (Cu) Pada Karang Pocillopora Damicornis Di Perairan Taman Nasional Karimunjawa

Human activities in the Karimunjawa National Park increase water pollution, including heavy metals such as lead (Pb) and copper (Cu). The existence of heavy metals in sea waters can not be degraded, but it can be absorbed and accumulated in the body of organisms, including coral, Pocillopora damicornis. Given the existence of coral P. damicornis as sessile organism which are able to absorb lead (Pb) and copper (Cu) from the water, therefore, it is necessary to conduct research on heavy metals content in the coral. The purpose of this study was to determine the content of heavy metals lead (Pb) and copper (Cu) on the coral P. damicornis taken from several locations around the Karimunjawa National Park. The results of the study showed that heavy metals content in the water was not detected. While the highest Pb and Cu were found in the coral collected from Burung Island that was equal to 0.00405 ppm and 0.01121 ppm, respectively. The lowest Pb substance were found in the coral collected from Kemojan canal i.e. 0.00143 ppm. Sample collected from Indonoor, Kemojan canal and Karimunjawa port did not contain Cu substance. Based on Pb and Cu data contained in the coral and water samples Minister of Environment Decree No.51st, 2004, it could be concluded that the conditions of Karimunjawa National Park was still in the stage of no contamination

Aktivitas Anti Bakteri Kitosan Dari Cangkang Kerang Simping Pada Kondisi Lingkungan Yang Berbeda : Kajian Pemanfaatan Limbah Kerang Simping (Amusium SP.)

Waste is one of the major problems in various countries in the world, one of which is the waste of marine products, for example clam shells. This waste can be processed into chitin and chitosan. Chitosan alone has a lot of benefits that have relatively high economic value, such as chitosan as a natural source antibacterial that can be effectively produced. Deacetylation degree of chitosan determined by using data from FTIR spectra and the value was 69.11349%. The results showed that there were soluble chitosan with 1% acetic acid. In the antibacterial test of chitosan on E. coli and S. aureus showed inhibition zone on agar medium. Chitosan provided large inhibition zones on 0.01 μg/disk and 0.02 μg/disk concentrations , however conditions factor of the media effected the growth of those bacteria. Bacteria E. coli bacterium was more sensitive to salinity than thah of S. aureus, while the S. aureus bacterium is more sensitive to pH than that of E. coli bacterium