Aquaculture Technology Center

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Tropical Biology

Indonesia's tropical region geographically covers areas located between the Northern Tropic and 23°27’ South Latitude. The tropics are regions located between the 18°C isotherm of the coldest month. Overall, the tropics cover 30% of the Earth's surface. Tropical forests are forests located in tropical regions. Tropical rainforests are one of the oldest forest vegetation types that have covered much of the land. Tropical rainforest ecosystems exist in areas with climate types A and B (according to the Schmidt and Ferguson climate classification), or it can be said that this ecosystem type is found in areas that are always wet, in areas with Podsol, Latosol, Alluvial, and Regosol soil types with good drainage, and located far from the coast. Tropical rainforest stands are dominated by evergreen trees. The diversity of plant and animal species in tropical rainforests is very high. The number of tree species found in tropical rainforests is greater than that found in other ecosyste...

Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli is a pathogenic bacterium that lives in the intestines of humans and animals and plays a role in maintaining a healthy digestive system. This bacterium is also found in water and food, as are non-pathogenic strains of E. coli. Pathogenic strains, such as enterotoxigenic E. coli (EPEC), produce shiga toxin, which is an indicator of water pollution and invades the epithelial cells of the small intestine. The presence of E. coli in aquatic environments indicates contamination by waste or animal feces carried in the water.Escherichia coli is a type of bacteria belonging to the coliform family that normally lives in human and animal feces, therefore it is also called fecal coliform. E. coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming bacterium. E. coli is commonly found in water as a source of microbial pollution. This bacterium forms rods in chains with a length of approximately 2 micrometers and a diameter of 0.5 micrometers. This bacterium has Bacillus forms includ...

Actinomycetes

Actinomycetes are microorganisms native to the sea and can be found on the surface of seawater, the seabed, in sediments, coral reefs, and in soil. Actinomycetes are prokaryotic, like bacteria, but possess mycelium and are classified as microbes with the potential to produce secondary metabolites. Actinomycetes form symbiotic relationships with sponges on the outside of the body (extracellular exosymbiosis), inside the sponge (extracellular endosymbiosis), in the cytoplasm (intracellular symbiosis), and in the cell nucleus (intranuclear symbiosis). Actinomycetes are capable of producing bioactive compounds from antibiotics (70%), fungi (20%), and bacteria (10%). This type of microbe has been widely used in the pharmaceutical, animal feed, fisheries, and other industries. Commercial products that utilize actinomycete secondary metabolites include tetracycline, erythromycin, vancomycin, and streptomycin.

Bio-Active Compounds of Sponge

Sponges are marine invertebrates that possess more than 20 categories of bioactive compounds, including antibiotics, antivirals, anti-inflammatories, anticancer, antileukemic, insecticidal, antihelminthic, and cytotoxins, making them attractive for development. Nutritionally, sponges are more suitable as microbial niches than nutrient-poor seawater. The interaction between bacteria and sponges is called mutualistic symbiosis, producing bioactive compounds. Sponges with high microbial abundance are called High-Microbial-Abundance (HMA), while sponges with low microbial abundance are called Low-Microbial-Abundance (LMA). The microbes that symbiotically interact with sponges, known as secondary metabolite producers, are members of the Actinobacteria group.

Biological Activity in Marine Invertebrates

Indonesia has rich marine biodiversity and potential for development. Abundant marine resources are not only a food source but can also be developed into medicinal ingredients. Marine invertebrates are the marine organisms that produce the largest number of bioactive compounds compared to marine vertebrates. This is because marine invertebrates have more limited physical movement than marine vertebrates, resulting in a greater response to bioactive compound production. Marine invertebrates with biological activity include sponges, ascidians, mollusks, and bryozoans. In the past decade, the world's attention in medicine has begun to turn to marine organisms as a potential source of these compounds. The need for new antibiotics is high, especially those that are effective in inhibiting resistant pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, information about active antibacterial compounds in the health sector is crucial in combating diseases caused by bacteria. Infectious diseases are diseases cau...

The Application of Biotechnology in The Fisheries Sector

The application of biotechnology in the fisheries sector is extensive, ranging from engineering cultivation media, fish, to post-harvest fisheries products. One concrete example of media engineering is the use of microbes to maintain the quality of cultivation media, ensuring its safety for fish cultivation. Biotechnology can create fish with unique genetic characteristics through gene engineering. The benefits of gene engineering include creating fish species with faster growth, thicker flesh, higher nutritional value, disease resistance, improved environmental stability, increased seed conservation, and so on. The post-harvest stage of fisheries through biotechnology can transform fish through biological transformation, so that the resulting products can benefit human survival. Biotechnology techniques already applied in the aquaculture sector include selective breeding, gene and chromosome manipulation, monosex culture, hybridization, gene engineering, reproduction and the nutrigeno...