Characterization of an orange pigment produced by a native strain of Bacillus spp.

Abstract

Considering the wealth of species and microbial varieties of certain
countries, the search of native strains with possible biotechnological potential
that produces compounds of industrial interest is a form to impel scientific,
economic and social advances within regions. In this study, it was selected
and identified, morphological and biochemically by means of API CHB kit, a
bacterial native strain of the Bacillus spp., which produces an orange pigment
that was isolated, purified and characterized using different physical, chemical
and spectrophotometric tests. The results indicate that the strain behaves like
a Bacillus subtilis, probably denominated Bacillus globigii according to recent
reports based on molecular identification techniques. In the same way, the produced
orange pigment was characterized, partially, like a melanin, more specifically
an allomelanin according to microbial origin. Nevertheless, it must be
considered that the classification of a material within this family is difficult
and ambiguous, as well as non-definitive. It has denominated melanin to biological
compound set that has a series of common characteristics, but there is
no a method or a satisfactory physical or chemical analysis that allows to decide
clearly if a particular substance belongs or not to this group; on the contrary,
there is a series of non definitive tests, some of them excluding, which allows to
suspect if a material under study belongs
to this pigment family. On the
other hand, these substances have interesting
physical and chemical properties
that make them as potential
material with technological applications.