Evaluation of antibacterial and antifungal activity in extracts of Anabaena sp. (Cyanobacteria) in Guilan wetlands

Heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria are a group of N2-fixing microorganisms which normally grow in the damp soil of rice farms and fresh water wetlands. Cyanobacteria are important source of secondary metabolites. They have been shown to produce a variety of antibacterial, antifungal, antilarval, antiprotozoan, antialgal, and generally, cytotoxic secondary metabolites. Considering the extensive industrial and pharmaceutical uses of blue-green algae, antimicrobial activity of the native Anabaena sp. from Guilan wetlands studied. Studied Bacteria included Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Micrococcus luteus and fungi included Fusarium fujikuroi, Rhizoctonia solani, Colletotrichum sp. 62 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Antimicrobial effects were detected by Disk Agar Diffusion method. Tetracycline was used as a positive control for bacteria and mancozeb was used for fungi. The inhibition zone diameter was measured. The results showed that the extracts from Anabaena sp. were not effective against studied bacteria and fungi.