New achivements on marine bacteriocin serving aquaculture

The project: Isolation, screening and characterization of marine bacteriocin-producing bacteria for the development of multi-functional drugs in aquaculture, conducted by Dr. Nguyen Van Duy (Institute for Biotechnology and Environment), from 12/2011 to 12/2013.

This project aims to screen and characterize marine bacteriocinogenic bacteria as well as assess the properties of bacteriocins for using them as multi-functional drugs of anti- and pro- biotics in aquaculture. Firstly, total bacteria will isolated from several reared animals in coastal Central Vietnam. They will be in vitro screened for bacteriocin activity against selected target pathogens. Bacteriocinogenic bacteria will be identified and characterized by biochemical tests and 16S rDNA sequencing. Besides, the stability, activity spectrum and mode of action of raw bacteriocins in cell-free supernatants will be evaluated. Finally, in vivo tests and challenge trials will be carried out to develop probiotics against bacterial diseases in lobster culture in Cam Ranh, Khanh Hoa province.

	The results of the project would contribute new knowledge on the biodiversity, evolution, physiology, ecology of marine microorganisms and their potential applications as multi-functional drugs in aquaculture in Vietnam.
	Important results: - A collection of 30 strains of bacteriocin-producing bacteria, which belong to diverse genera such as Bacillus, Enterococcus, Proteus, Cronobacter, Enterobacter, and Klebsiella. Some strains of the Proteus genus may represent for novel species. This research opened the new way for the study on marine bacteriocin in Vietnam for the development of drugs and/or probiotics for human and animals. - Trained 02 Master students in Aquaculture.

- Reported in the International Scientific Conference on Bacteriocins and Antimicrobial Peptides (BAMP2013), International Conference on Bien Dong 2013, National Conference of Biotechnology 2013, published in at least 02 papers on SCI/SCIE indexed international journals and more on national journals.