Tharanan Kongkapan, Naraid Suanyuk, and Suphada Kiriratnikom

DOI: 10.14456/sjst-psu.2021.72

pp. 537 - 544

Abstract

During October 2015 to December 2016, eight marine sponge-associated bacteria (PSU-KSAAHRC MS1-8) with red,
reddish orange, yellow, reddish pink, and dark red pigments were isolated from five species of marine sponge, namely
Callyspongia sp., Callyspongia diffusa, Haliclona sp., Dysidea sp. and Stylissa carteri, sampled from Satun and Phang-Nga
provinces on the Andaman coast of Thailand. These bacteria produced pigments in the range 55.65-5,619.67 µg/g. The highest
pigment content was found in the dark red-pigmented bacterial isolate PSU-KSAAHRC MS2 isolated from Haliclona sp.
sampled in Satun province. Thin layer chromatography of a red amorphous pigment extract from the bacterial isolate PSUKSAAHRC MS2 revealed two fractions with respective Rf value of 0.65 and maximum absorbance at 535, and Rf value of 0.57
and maximum absorbance at 539 nm. Analyses of each TLC fraction by liquid chromatograph quadrupole time of flight mass
spectrometer revealed the molecular weights of 323 (m/z 324, [M+H]+
) and 321 (m/z 322, [M+H]+
), in the same order.
Comparing to published data, the compound with maximum absorbance at 535 and molecular weight of 323 (m/z 324, [M+H]+
)
was identified as prodigiosin while the compound with maximum absorbance at 539 nm and molecular weight of 321 (m/z 322,
[M+H]+
) was identified as cycloprodigiosin. Based on morphological and biochemical characteristics as well as phylogenetic
analysis obtained from the present study, the bacterial isolate PSU-KSAAHRC MS2 was identified as Zooshikella sp. To our
knowledge, this is a first report on identification of prodigiosin and cycloprodigiosin from Zooshikella sp. isolated from marine
sponge, Haliclona sp., in Thailand.