Production of chitosan from endolichenic fungi isolated from mangrove environment and its antagonistic activity

Objective:To screen the chitosan producing ability of endolichenic fungi and its antibacterial activity.Methods:Lichen collected from mangroves was screened for endophytes and the chitosan producing ability of endolichenic fungi by submerged fermentation was also determined.Antibacterial activity was carried out against different pathogens.Results:Totally4 different groups of fungi were isolated from the lichen Roccella montagnei.Among the four genera,Aspergillus niger(A.niger)is potential to produce chitosan(1.3 g/L)on the twelfth day of incubation.Glucose plays an important role in the pnjductivity of chitosan and the yield was maximum at 10%(1.93 g/L).Antibacterial activity revealed that Vibrio cholerae was sensitive to chitosan followed by Escherichia coli.Conclusions:In conclusion,our findings suggest that A.niger is a potential candidate to produce more chitosan than the other strains and glucose plays an important role in the production of chitosan which proves to have a good antibacterial activity.