Screening and characterization of amylolitic mold originated from ghost crab (ocypode sp.) in Cidaon, Ujung Kulon National Park, Indonesia

Abstract

Amylases have been used since centuries in textile, feed, food and paper industries. Of different biofactories applied in amylases production, molds have been widely used in industries based on their high capacity for production and excretion of the enzyme. Amylolytic molds can be isolated from different environments. This study aims to select and characterize amylolytic fungi from ghost crabs (ocypode sp.), at ujung kulon national park, indonesia. Sampling was carried out by purposive random sampling method, followed by mold isolation by using the direct and washing method. The screening was carried out by the agar diffusion method, and the selected strain was fully characterized using microscopic and macroscopic studies. The data obtained were analyzed by one way anova followed by dmrt test with a significant level of 5%. Based on the results, it can be seen that ghost crab (ocypode sp.) is a good substrate for mold growth. There are 30 representative mold isolates has successfully isolated from crabs from 2 sampling sites. Almost 46% of mold isolates were found to have the potential ability to produce amylase enzymes. However, isolate unjcc f111 has the highest ia value of 2.73 mm and based on observation, it is thought to belong to the penicillium group. As many as 71.4% of the 14 amylolytic potential mold isolates were thought to belong to the genera aspergillus. The isolated strains have high potential as biofactory of amylases production and could be applied for industrial production.