Source: SEAMEO BIOTROP's Research Grant | 2020
Abstract:
Indigo is a blue pigment compound that is widely used in the printing industry, textile dyeing, and the pharmaceutical industry. This blue pigment is popular as a dye in jeans called denim. Several studies have reported on indigo-producing microbes from indole originating from terrestrial and marine environments. Indonesia's marine microbial diversity is very abundant. This study aims to select local Indonesian marine bacteria for indigo biosynthesis through indole biotransformation using the enzyme naphthalene dioxygenase. The stages of this research consisted of rejuvenating and screening or selecting marine bacteria to obtain indigo-producing bacteria (dye). The marine bacterial isolates used were isolates isolated from the marine environment of Indonesia such as Jakarta Bay, Marina Beach, and Cilacap. The results showed that LBF-1-0102 isolates were selected as positive candidates for indigo dye-producing bacteria through the biotransformation process of indole compounds. These isolates need to be confirmed molecularly and genetically. Furthermore, the oxygenase enzyme which is thought to play a role in the indole biotransformation process of LBF-1-0102 isolates needs to be characterized and optimized to obtain the best activity for indigo biosynthesis.
Key words: indigo, indole, marine bacteria, dioxygenase enzymes