Bioactive potential of actinobacteria isolated from certain under-studied regions in India.

The present study reports the bioactive potential of actinobacteria isolated from certain under-studied regions in India. Soil and sediment samples and mangrove leaves were collected from 16 different under-studied regions in India. Actinobacteria was isolated by adopting selective isolation methods. Totally 158 actinobaterial cultures were selected from the collected terrestrial, marine and plant samples. More number of colonies was isolated from magnesite area, Kolli Hills and forest area in Himachal Pradesh. Majority of the isolates produced powdery (40%) and leathery (25%) colonies with white (38%) or Gray (37%) colour aerial mycelium. Bioactive compound from all the isolates were produced by agar surface fermentation and its activity was tested by agar plug method against S. aureus, E. coli and C. albicans. About 64 out of 158 cultures showed antibacterial activity in which 62 cultures was active against S. aureus whereas 26 were active against E. coli. Twenty three actinobacterial cultures were exhibited antifungal activity. About 11 actinobacterial cultures were active against both S. aureus and E. coli. In antifungal testing whereas fourteen actinobacterial cultures were found to be active against S. aureus, E. coli and C. albicans. Maximum of 21 antibacterial cultures and antifungal cultures were obtained from Magnesite soil followed by 12 antibacterial and 7 antifungal cultures were obtained from the soil sample collected from Himachal Pradesh. This evidenced that the under-studied ecosystems in India are the promising source for bioactive actinobacteria with broad spectrum antibacterial and antifungal activity. Further studies on the potential actinobacterial strains result in the isolation of broad spectrum antimicrobial metabolites.

Molecular characterization of nitrogen-fixing bacteria isolated from brazilian agricultural plants at São Paulo state / Caracterização molecular de bactérias fixadoras de nitrogênio isoladas de plantas brasileiras no estado de São Paulo

Fourteen strains of nitrogen-fixing bacteria were isolated from different agricultural plant species, including cassava, maize and sugarcane, using nitrogen-deprived selective isolation conditions. Ability to fix nitrogen was verified by the acetylene reduction assay. All potentially nitrogen-fixing strains tested showed positive hybridization signals with a nifH probe derived from Azospirillum brasilense. The strains were characterized by RAPD, ARDRA and 16S rDNA sequence analysis. RAPD analyses revealed 8 unique genotypes, the remaining 6 strains clustered into 3 RAPD groups, suggesting a clonal origin. ARDRA and 16S rDNA sequence analyses allowed the assignment of 13 strains to known groups of nitrogen-fixing bacteria, including organisms from the genera Azospirillum, Herbaspirillum, Pseudomonas and Enterobacteriaceae. Two strains were classified as Stenotrophomonas ssp. Molecular identification results from 16S rDNA analyses were also corroborated by morphological and biochemical data.

Quatorze linhagens de bactérias fixadoras de nitrogênio foram isoladas de diferentes espécies de plantas, incluindo cassava, milho e cana-de-açúcar, usando condições seletivas desprovidas de nitrogênio. A capacidade de fixar nitrogênio foi verificada por ensaio de redução de acetileno. Todas as linhagens fixadoras de nitrogênio testadas apresentaram hibridização positiva com sonda de gene nifH derivada de Azospirillum brasilense. As linhagens foram caracterizadas por RAPD, ARDRA e sequenciamento do gene 16S rDNA. As análises de RAPD revelaram 8 genótipos, as 6 linhagens restantes foram agrupadas em 3 grupos de RAPD, sugerindo uma origem clonal. ARDRA e seqüências de 16S rDNA foram alocadas em 13 grupos conhecidos de bactérias fixadoras de nitrogênio, incluindo organismos dos gêneros Azospirillum, Herbaspirillum, Pseudomonas e Enterobacteriaceae. Duas linhagens foram classificadas como Stenotrophomonas ssp. Os resultados da identificação molecular baseados em sequencias de 16S rDNA corroboram com dados obtidos em testes morfológicos e bioquímicos.

Distribution of Alcohol-tolerant Microfungi in Paddy Field Soils

Ethanol treatment method was attempted for the selective isolation of ethanol-tolerant fungi from two sites of rice paddy fields around Seoul area. The vertical and seasonal fluctuation of the fungal population were also investigated. The ethanoltolerant fungi were Talaromyces stipitatus, T. flavus var. flavus, T. helicus var. major, Eupenicillium javanicum, Emericellopsis terricolor, Pseudourotium zonatum, Aspergillus flavus, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Penicillium frequentans, P. janthinellum, and P. verruculosum. The most dominant species isolated by this method was T. stipitatus. It was found that the numbers of fungal species and colony forming units (CFUs) of ethanol-tolerant fungi were higher in Ascomycota than in Deuteromycota. A particular tendency appeared the highest CFUs in autumn, but lower in spring and winter. T. stipitatus was the dominant species of ethanol tolerant microfungi. This result would suggest that membrane lipid composition of ethanoltolerant fungi isolated from the soils may play on important role in the ethanol tolerance.

Some Approaches for the Selective Isolation of Rare Actinomycetes / 微生物学通报

The focus of microbiologists has moved to the rare actinomycetes.For selective isolation of rare actinomycetes that all play the important role in bioactive compounds,the approaches which involve the methods using gellan gum and flooding solution、 rehydration-centrifugation(RC)、 extremely high frequency radiation(EHF)、 bacteriophage and sucrose-gradient centrifugation were introduced in this paper.