Isolation and characterization of algicidal bacteria from Cochlodinium polykrikoides culture

In this study, we analyzed a bacterial community closely associated with Cochlodinium polykrikoides that caused harmful algal blooming in the sea. Filtration using a plankton mesh and percoll gradient centrifugation were performed to eliminate free-living bacteria. Attached bacteria were analyzed by culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. Five culturable bacterial strains were isolated and identified from the C. polykrikoides mixed bacterial community. The isolates belonged to α-Proteobacteria (Nautella sp., Sagittula sp., and Thalassobius sp.) and γ-Proteobacteria (Alteromonas sp. and Pseudoalteromonas sp.). All of the 5 isolates showed algicidal activity against C. polykrikoides and produced extracellular compounds responsible for algicidal properties after entering the stationary phase. The algicidal compounds produced by the 5 isolates were heat-stable and had molecular masses of less than 10,000 Da. Furthermore, the algicidal compounds were relatively specific for C. polykrikoides in terms of their algicidal activities. Culture-independent analysis of the bacterial community in association with C. polykrikoides was performed using polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). On the basis of the PCR-DGGE profile, Sagittula sp. was identified as a dominant species in the bacterial community of C. polykrikoides.