Abstract:
The soda lakes provide a high biodiversity of halophilic and alkaliphilic fungi. The
fungus in this study was isolated from sediments collected from Lake Elmentaita in
Kenya. The effect of pH and sodium chloride on growth was done on Malt Extract
Agar (MEA) and Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) media. Fermentation of fungal isolate
in 500 ml conical flasks was done in fourteen days’ duration on a shaker. Extraction
of crude fermentation solution was done using the solvents, Ethyl acetate and
hexane in the ratio 2:1 respectively. Molecular characterization of the fungus was
done using the18s rDNA Gas-chromatography-Mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS)
analysis revealed seventeen secondary metabolites produced by the fungus. The
fungus grew well at alkaline pH of 9 to12 and a temperature range of 26°C to 30°C.
Growth was only observed on 0% to 10% sodium chloride. The culture-dependent
assays and GC-MS analysis showed that the fungus produces bioactive compounds
that can be applied in biotechnology research. Moreover, molecular analysis
grouped the isolate as a close relative to the genus Aspergillus.
