Isolation and characterization of hydrogen producing marine photosynthetic bacteria

Abstract

Photosynthetic bacteria are widely distributed in nature and are a good source of sustainable products. The aim of this work is to investigate the potential of photosynthetic bacteria from marine environments to produce hydrogen, a renewable, clean and efficient fuel. Marine environments have been identified as major source of new natural products. Samples of water were collected from marine environments around Kuala Terengganu. Using aseptic techniques, the samples were inoculated in succinate medium and incubated under light at a temperature of 28-30oC. Two suspected photosynthetic bacteria were isolated from the sample. Both are Gram negative rods and produce carotenoid and bacteriochlorophyl photosynthetic pigments. The isolated bacteria were then investigated for their potential to produce hydrogen using acetate and synthetic waste water media containing starch as carbon sources incubated under light. The gas produced were collected and analyzed using a Residual Gas Analyzer (RGA). Both isolates show potential to produce hydrogen gas. The bacteria were then subjected to molecular characterization using 16s rRNA method to identify the isolated organisms. The two isolates were identified using NCBI BLAST tool Pseudomonas species ID1 with accession number KJ950496 and Aeromonas species ID2 with accession number KJ950497.