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Identification of cultivable palm oil-degrading bacteria in seawater<br />

Rachel Anne Chua Hui-Wan<br />

Supervisor: Assoc. Prof Dr. Kesaven a/l Bhubalan<br />

Bachelor of Sciences (Marine Biology)<br />

School of Marine and Environmental Science<br />

Malaysia accounts for 37% of world palm oil exports respectively whereby exports are<br />

transported in bulk by sea. The aims of this study are to isolate and identify marine<br />

bacteria capable of utilizing palm oil as substrate. Biodegradation of various palm oil<br />

concentrations was carried out using seawater collected from Dapo Pata Uptown<br />

Kontena Beach, Tok Jembal. Bacteria were isolated and screened for lipolytic activity<br />

before identification by 16s rRNA gene sequencing. A total of five phenotypically<br />

different bacterial isolates were isolated and all were found to exhibit lipolytic activity.<br />

Bacterial isolates were identified as Pseudoalteromonas gelatinolytica, Staphylococcus<br />

haemolyticus, Vibrio alginolyticus and Vibrio harveyi. All isolates showed slight<br />

differences in morphology and genetic sequence compared to other studies.<br />

Percentage similarity of isolates to NCBI GenBank database ranged from 94%-98%.<br />

This study shows that marine bacteria capable of utilizing palm oil as substrate can be<br />

isolated from seawater. Future studies on palm oil degradation rate and toxicity of its<br />

by-products are recommended.<br />

1836 | UMT UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH DAY 2018

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