Dagaa (Rastrinoebola argentea) Protein Hydrolysate as a Nitrogen Source in Microbial Culture Media

Abstract

Dagaa is a small pelagic fish found in Lake Victoria. It is used as a nutrient source in animal feeds and human consumption. Utilization of fish protein hydrolysate as a nutrient in culture media has been explored in several fish species and dagaa protein hydrolysate (DPH) can also be a candidate due to its rich protein and lipid content. Potential of DPH as a nitrogenous source in microbial growth media was assayed using the following bacteria; Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Bacillus subtilis and Rhodobacter capsulatus and two fungi, Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana. Cell growth was evaluated using turbidity and biomass in liquid cultures. DPH formulated media produced similar cell growth when compared to positive controls made up of Luria Bertani (LB) for bacteria and Sabouraud’s dextrose broth (SDB) for fungi. This indicates that formulated DPH media can be considered as an alternative media for microbial culture.