1298 Rev. Biol. Trop. (Int. J. Trop. Biol.) • Vol. 68(4): 1298-1310, December 2020 Caracterización fenotípica y molecular, e influencia de medios de cultivo, en el crecimiento y emisión de luz de bacterias del litoral de La Habana, Cuba María Victoria Iglesias Rodríguez 1* , Rodolfo Umaña-Castro 2 , Lirialis Garcia Mesa 3 , Eudalys Ortiz Guilarte 1 , Roberto Núñez Moreira 1 , Carlos Álvarez Valcárcel 4 & Gladys Margarita Lugioyo Gallardo 1* 1. Instituto de Ciencias del Mar, Agencia de Medio Ambiente, Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente. Calle Loma esq. 39, Vedado, La Habana CP 10600, Cuba; victoria@icimar.cu, laly@icimar.cu, robertico@icimar.cu, margarita@icimar.cu 2. Laboratorio de Análisis Genómico, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Campus Omar Dengo, Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica; rodolfo.umana.castro@una.ac.cr 3. Centro de Investigaciones Pesqueras, Ministerio de la Industria Alimentaria, Calle 246 e/ 5ta. Ave. y Mar, Edificio 503, Playa, La Habana, Cuba; lirialis@cip.alinet.cu 4. Centro de Estudios de Proteínas, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de La Habana, Cuba; calvarez@fbio.uh.cu * Correspondencia Recibido 20-III-2020. Corregido 02-VII-2020. Aceptado 04-IX-2020. ABSTRACT. Phenotypic and molecular characterization, and influence of culture media, on the growth and light emission of bacteria from the coast of Havana, Cuba. Introduction: The light-emitting enzyme complex of luminescent bacteria is a powerful biochemical tool, with a wide variety of applications includ- ing environmental quality monitoring. Objectives: To identify taxonomically two luminescent bacteria from Cuban shelf waters, as well as select the culture media that favor their growth and luminescence. Methods: The taxonomic location of the luminescent bacteria was carried out using traditional and molecular methods. Four culture media (LM, Boss, Chalk, ZoBell) were evaluated as a function of specific growth rate (μ) and lumines- cence, using a Genesys 10UV spectrophotometer and a Shimadzu RF-5301pc spectrofluorometer, respectively. Results: Biochemical and physiological characterization of CBM-976 and CBM-992 isolates showed similari- ties with Vibrio harveyi species. Phylogenetic positioning analysis confirmed a high correspondence with V. harveyi strains isolated from aquatic environments, using partial sequences of 16S rRNA, gyrB and pyrH genes. LM and ZoBell culture media were selected for having a high specific growth rate of CBM-976 and CBM-992 strains, as well as for showing high luminescence values. The results will allow deepening the physiological characterization and are the starting point for the development of contaminant detection methods. Conclusions: The rational combination of physiological and biochemical characteristics, as well as the molecular approach, contributed to determine the taxonomic position of CBM-976 and CBM-992 strains isolated from Cuban marine waters as Vibrio harveyi. Furthermore, LM and ZoBell culture media were selected as the most suitable for growth and luminescence emission for both strains. Key words: marine bacteria; bioluminescence; Vibrio harveyi; culture media; DNA sequencing. Iglesias Rodríguez, M.V., Umaña Castro, R., Garcia Mesa, L., Ortiz Guilarte, E., Núñez Moreira, R., Álvarez Valcárcel, C., & Lugioyo Gallardo, G.M. (2020). Caracterización fenotípica y molecular, e influencia de medios de cultivo, en el crecimiento y emisión de luz de bacterias del litoral de La Habana, Cuba. Revista de Biología Tropical, 68(4), 1298-1310. ISSN Impreso: 0034-7744 ISSN electrónico: 2215-2075