Agarose Degrading Potential and Whole Genome Sequence Analysis of Marine Bacterium Aliagarivorans sp. Strain DM1 Isolated from the Arabian Sea.

In recent years, agar-degrading bacteria have gained significant interest due to their biotechnological, environmental, microbiological, and industrial applications. Agar poses challenges such as marine waste accumulation, difficult industrial processing, limited natural degradability, and sustainability concerns due to high demand and overharvesting of red algae. The present study addresses the need for efficient agar-degrading microorganisms by isolating Aliagarivorans sp. strain DM1 from biofilm on fabric surfaces in the intertidal regions of the Arabian Sea, India. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that strain DM1 is closely related to Aliagarivorans taiwanensis AAT1^T, and it exhibited significant agar-degrading activity on Zobell marine agar plates. Whole genome sequencing of Aliagarivorans sp. strain DM1, conducted using the Illumina NovaSeq platform, yielded a genome size of 4,898,415 bp with an average G + C content of 53.3%. The genome includes 4,518 predicted protein-coding genes (CDS), 86 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, with thirteen predicted agarases identified. The highest enzyme activity recorded was 51.00 U mL^-1 on the 6th day of incubation using 10% inoculum, with optimal conditions of pH 8-9, 0.8 M NaCl, and temperatures between 50 and 60 °C. These findings underscore the promise of Aliagarivorans sp. strain DM1 in developing efficient enzymatic processes that can be applied in various biotechnological and industrial fields, including waste management and agaro-oligosaccharide production. Furthermore, strain DM1 possesses several key characteristics that enhance its adaptability and utility in marine and industrial applications, surpassing closely related strains in enzyme stability, environmental tolerance, and industrial versatility.