Volume 49, Issue 4, April 2014, Pages 569–575
Bioprospecting of Amazon soil fungi with the potential for pigment production
Highlights
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- Fungi from Amazon soil are potential pigment producers.
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- Five species stood out by the synthesis of coloured compounds.
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- Sclerotiorin was isolated from Penicillium sclerotiorum 2AV2.
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- Biocolourants demonstrate the importance of further bioprospecting studies in Amazon.
Abstract
The
aim of this study was to isolate fungi able to produce pigments. Fifty
strains were isolated from the Amazon soil by the conventional technique
of serial dilution. Submerged fermentation was performed in Czapeck
broth in order to select strains able to synthesise pigments. Five
strains were able to produce pigments and were identified by sequencing
the rDNA (ITS regions). These fungi were identified as Penicillium sclerotiorum 2AV2, Penicillium sclerotiorum 2AV6, Aspergillus calidoustus 4BV13, Penicillium citrinum 2AV18 and Penicillium purpurogenum 2BV41. P. sclerotiorum
2AV2 produced intensely coloured pigments and were therefore selected
for chemical characterisation. NMR identified the pigment as
sclerotiorin. In this work, the influence of nutrients on sclerotiorin
yield was also studied and it was verified that rhamnose and peptone
increased production when used separately. These results indicate that
Amazonian fungi bioprospecting is a viable means to search for new
sources of natural dyes.
Keywords
- Amazonian fungi;
- Pigments;
- Chemical characterisation;
- Optimisation
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