Microbial biofilms can cause serious health problems, since, due to their persistent character, they often function as spreaders of contaminants. Hydrolytic enzymes have a number of industrial applications and have been indicated as an alternative to the traditional chemical methods that are used to eradicate microbial biofilms. In this study, we evaluated the ability of enzymatic extracts produced by endophytic fungi isolated from the Amazonian species Myrcia guianensis to remove Staphylococcus aureus biofilms. After culture in liquid medium, the fungal hydrolytic extracts showed amylase (3.77 U/mL), lipase (3.84 U/mL), protease (3.63 U/mL), and xylanase (2.91 U/mL) activity. A 24 h mature S. aureus ATCC6538 biofilm was exposed to each enzyme extract with standardized enzyme activities for 10, 30, and 60 min. The optical density at 630 nm was used to calculate the growth rate (GR%) and the residual biofilm rate (RBR%). The most promising solutions were used in combination, based on a 24 factorial design for 0, 10, 20, and 30 min of exposure. Lipase and protease solutions, when applied separately, were the most effective, and promoted the complete removal of S. aureus biofilms in t10 (lipase) and t30 and t60 (lipase and protease). Of the combined treatments using 1.0 U/mL protease and 0.4 U/mL lipase, total biofilm degradation was observed for all exposure times. Thus, the hydrolases produced by the Amazonian endophytic fungi evaluated here are highlighted as an interesting tool in the fight against microbial biofilms.
Keywords: Biodegradation; Endophytes; Lipase; Microbial biofilm; Protease.