Asian Journal of Microbiology, Biotechnology & Environmental Sciences Paper

Vol 07, Issue 3, 2005; Page No.(457-464)

ISOLATION AND CHARACTERISATION OF STREPTOMYCETES, PRODUCING ANTIBIOTIC, FROM A MANGROVE ENVIRONMENT

K. SIVA KUMAR*, MA LOY KUMAR SAHU AND K. KATHIRESAN

Abstract

The actinomycetes have gained prominence in recent years because of their potential for producing antibiotics. The mangrove ecosystem supports a rich microbial flora. Hence, understanding the antibiotic producing actinomycetes present in the mangrove environment is very much essential in view of their activity against the potential human pathogens such as Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonus vulgaris, Shigella flexneri, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Vibrio cholerae and Staphylococcus aureus. Keeping this in view, sediment samples were collected from different stations of the Pichavaram mangrove ecosystem (Lat. 11"27'N; Long. 79" 47' E), situated along the southeast coast of India. The colonies were isolated and tested for their antagonistic activity and the strains possessing prominent activity against B. subtilis, P. vulgaris, S. flexneri, K. pneurnoniae, V cholerae and S. aureus were selected for identification. The micromorphological observations of the strains sl d, s5a, s5e, s51, s5k, s6b, s7c and s8e reveal that all belong to the genus-Streptomyces. The predominance of Streptomyces in any actinomycete population is a well- known fact. The analysis of cell components in the present study has also revealed the wall type-I (the wall type-I is typical for the genus Streptontyces). Hence, the morphological, micromorphological, physiological and biochemical results obtained for the antibiotic producing strains were compared with those of the Streptomyces species given in the key of Nonomura (1974) and Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology (Buchanan and Gibbons, 1974) and were identified as S. xantholiticus, S. gibsonii, S. clavifer, S. Icanamyceticus. S. aureocirculatus, S. albidoflavus, S. galtieri and S. xanthophaeus. Hence, it is suggested that the strains isolated and identified from the Pichavaram mangrove environment, possessing antibiotic properties are worth investigating in details in future for isolating the antibiotics for human welfare.

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