Comparison of Siderophore Production by Bacillus aryabhattai, Bacillus megaterium, and Bacillus cereus

Iron is an essential element for metabolic processes of organisms such as the tricarboxylic acid cycle, electron transport, and oxidative phophorylation. However, iron resources in the environment are always in complex forms that are not readily available for direct intake. To overcome iron limitation, microorganisms are able to produce a high affinity Fe(III) chelator, known as siderophore. One of the bacterial genus that can produced siderophore is Bacillus. In this study, the production and complexing ability of siderophore from Bacillus cereus, Bacillus megaterium, and Bacillus aryabhattai were determined through chrome azurol S (CAS) agar plate and liquid assay. The effect of carbon sources (glucose, maltose and glycerol) on siderophore production by the bacteria were also studied. The results demonstrated the ability of B. cereus to produce the most siderophore in LB broth in comparison to B. aryabhattai and B. megaterium. Siderophores produced by all three species were capable of complexing with Mn(II), Zn(II) and Cu(II). The results also showed that production of siderophore was the most effective with maltose as carbon source for B. aryabhattai and B. megaterium.