TITLE:
Dynamism of Antimicrobial Activity of Actinomycetes—A Case Study from Undisturbed Microbial Niche
AUTHORS:
Jayshree D. Patel, Mahesh Parmar, Purshottam Patel, Pravin Rohit, Ramesh Taviyad, Parveen Ansari, Bipasha Bhattacharya, Dhaval Vyas, Vipin Kumar, Nirmal S. Sahay, Pawan K. Singh
KEYWORDS:
Actinomycetes, Screening, Antimicrobial, Drug Resistance, Soil Microflora
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Microbiology,
Vol.4 No.6,
May
13,
2014
ABSTRACT:
Escalation
of drug resistant microbes (bacteria) had forced researchers to search new and
improved therapeutic compounds from different possible sources, including
metabolites secreted by the actinomycetes. The aim of this study was to
evaluate the pattern of antimicrobial actinomycetes from physiologically
distinct soil of different geographical locations. Forty five soil samples were
collected from 5 districts of Gujarat including two sanctuaries as source of
survey for bioactive actinomycetes. Crowded plate technique was used for
isolation and Agar cylinder method was employed for the antimicrobial
screening. A total of 171 actinomycetes were isolated and screened against
eighteen pathogens responsible for causing diseases in plants and humans.
Results indicate that 79% of the isolates were active against at least one of
the eighteen tested pathogens. Some of the actinomycetes strain had shown
strong antibacterial and antifungal activity which may be a good source of
obtaining novel antimicrobials.