TITLE:
A Meta-Advance of Bacillus-Mediated Biosurfactant Augmentation in the Chikwangue Composition
AUTHORS:
Nedjea Digne N’goma-Mona, Christian Aimé Kayath, Saturnin Nicaise Mokemiabeka, Frédéric Yannick Okouakoua
KEYWORDS:
Bacillus, Augmentation, Biosurfactant, Proteins
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Microbiology,
Vol.15 No.2,
February
12,
2025
ABSTRACT: Cassava is the most widely distributed food crop in Central Africa. Chikwangue, also known as kwanga in the Republic of Congo, is a starchy fermented cassava product that is a staple food in the country. This work aims to determine the composition of bioactive compounds in chikwangue, including biosurfactant-like molecules and proteins content. Antibacterial activities were investigated through the preliminary emulsification index of chikwangue and fermented paste. Antibacterial assay, 16S rRNA, cytK, hblD, nheB and entFM PCR amplifications, DNA sequence analysis, NCBI homology analysis, and phylogenic tree were performed using NGPhylogeny. fr and iTOL (interactive of live). Fermented cassava paste and chikwangue contain biosurfactants with an emulsification index of 50%. The total protein concentration in fermented cassava paste was 4 g/ml and the chikwangue was 2.5 g/mL Further sequence analysis showed that isolates shared a homology of up to 99.9% with Bacillus cereus PQ432941.1, B. licheniformis PQ432758.1, B. altitudinis PQ432754.1, B. subtilis PQ432759.1, B. mojavensis PQ432755.1, B. tequilensis MT994788.1, B. subtilis MT994789.1, Paenibacillus polymyxa PQ452544.1, B. velezensis PQ452545.1, B. thuringiensis PQ432763.1, B. pumilus PQ432762.1, B. subtilis MT994787.1, B. mycoides PQ432890.1, B. thuringiensis PQ432766.1, B. subtilis PQ432757.1 and B. amyloliquefaciens PQ432756.1. Importantly, the emulsification index (E24) ranged from 60 to 100% and the crude biosurfactant for the Bacillus strains mentioned above could easily inhibit the growth for pathogen Gram-negative bacteria (S. enterica, S. flexneri, E. coli, Klebsiella sp. and P. aeruginosa) with diameters ranging from 2.3 ± 0.1 cm to 5.5 ± 0.4 cm. On the other hand, the diameters of Gram-positive pathogenic bacteria (B. cereus and S. aureus) varied between 1.5 ± 0.5 cm and 4.0 ± 0.2 cm. These findings involve the promise purpose of Bacillus isolated from retted cassava, and this study systematically uncovered the biodiversity and distribution characteristics of retted paste cassava and chikwangue.