Lipase from coral associated bacteria: screening, optimizing lipase production, and molecular characterization

To obtain lipase that can be utilized in industrial applications, it is crucial to explore a new source of lipase. Marine bacteria, especially those associated with coral, are a potential source of lipase. In this study, a total of 50 coral-associated bacteria was screened based on their lypolitic activity on a selective agar plate that contained olive oil and rhodamine B. The highest lypolitic activity was observed on isolate 30.10.11. To obtain a high lipase yield from culture cultivation, we optimized lipase production media using parameters of induction time, substrate oil, nitrogen source, pH, temperature, and % oil induction variation. The optimum condition with lipolytic activity at the level of 0.680 U/mL was obtained by cultivating the coral bacterium on modified Zobel marine media with 0.6% tryptone, 5% soybean oil induction, pH 8, 150 rpm, and 30 °C for 24 hours. Based on the 16S rRNA sequence analysis, the coral bacterium isolate 30.10.11 showed 99.65% similarity to Staphylococcus haemolyticus . Lipase obtained from this isolate is potential to be used in industrial applications, therefore it needs further research on its lipase characterization.