Aims: Bacillus cereus is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped and spore-forming bacterium. It is a ubiquitous bacterium which is widely distributed in several environments such as soil and plants and is commonly isolated from food and its processing environment. This study was aimed to determine the genetic diversity and antibiotic resistance of B. cereus isolated from sago processing in Sarawak. Methodology and results: Out of 120 samples, 42 B. cereus isolates were detected with the presence of hly gene of B. cereus by using specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Twenty B. cereus isolates were randomly selected and further characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of chromosomal DNA digested with NotI to examine the genetic diversity. The result of the PFGE analysis confirmed that the B. cereus strains in sago processing were genetically diverse. Based on the dendrogram generated, B. cereus strains were grouped into two major clusters and these clusters were grouped together based on sources of isolation. The investigation on the antibiotic resistance of B. cereus strains revealed that the B. cereus strains were uniformly highly resistant to penicillin and ampicillin and highly susceptible to imipenem and norfloxacin. Conclusion, significance and impact of study The results of this study suggest that the B. cereus isolated from sago processing derived from a mixture of sensitive and resistant strains with diverse genetic contents.

Aims: Pigments have a large and growing market in the world. Drawbacks in their production such as raw materials availability and low productivity prompt the search for fermentation routes for industrial production. A carotenoid-producing yeast identified as Rhodotorula mucilaginosa was isolated in our laboratory. The aim of this study was to investigate the growth and carotenoid production capacity of the yeast. Methodology and results: A cost-effective substrate of sago starch hydrolysate (SSH) derived from sago fiber waste was used for the fermentation. The fermentation was carried out for 96 h at 27 °C in batch mode. The biomass produced during 5 days of fermentation was 9.6 g/L, which contained a carotenoid concentration of 8.1 mg/L and a specific yield of 845.9 g/g. Conclusion, significance and impact of study The results demonstrated the capacity of R. mucilaginosa yeast to produce carotenoids and its potential for larger-scale production.