Produção de exopolissacarídeos a partir de bastonetes grampositivos isolados de contaminantes de cultura de tecido vegetal

Abstract

Contaminants present in the cultures of plant tissue commonly are associated with endophytic microorganisms. These microorganisms usually have a production of some biological compounds which can be used as biotechnological products, among them, the exopolysaccharides (EPSs). A vast number of bacteria known produces significant amount of EPSs, drawing attention in recent decades both in the research and industry, due to its properties and applications. The production of EPSs by microorganisms is an alternative to a new source of production of soluble or insoluble polymers, that have a wide application in environmental areas and medicine, food chemical and pharmaceutical industries. EPSs are products of cellular metabolism of microorganisms that can be connected to the cell surface or when they are excreted to the medium. For this reason, the goal of this work was to verify the production of EPSs by gram-positive rods bacteria. Six strains were used for the production of EPSs in culture medium directed to the formation of the polymer cellulose. All of the used strains have produced significant amount of EPSs, having its higher production during the first 48 hours, being selected two strains with higher yields of EPSs. A positive association of bacterial density was linked to the production of biomass of EPSs. With the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was able to see the production of EPSs. In conclusion, the results demonstrate the potential of bacterial strains to produce EPSs, being necessary new studies related to their characterization and potential application.