Abstract

During a survey of microorganisms from a disused tin-mining lake in Kampar, Perak, Malaysia, a distinct bacterium producing a purple pigment was isolated. The isolate was characterized by morphological observation, followed by a series of conventional biochemical tests, physiological tests, as well as antibacterial tests, and identified as Chromobactertium violaceum. It was a facultatively anaerobic, motile, Gram-negative bacillus. The identity of this bacterial isolate was verified by a phylogenetic analysis of its 16S rRNA sequence. The ecological, medical, pharmacological and industrial importance of this bacterium with its production of the purple pigment, violacein, was briefly discussed.

Key words: Environmental microbiology, freshwater ecology, opportunistic infection, pigmented bacteria, 16S rRNA gene.