Exploration of Actinobacteria from Mangrove Ecosystems of Nizampatnam and Coringa for Antimicrobial Compounds and Industrial Enzymes

Aim: A study was made to examine the kinship between the seasonal distribution of actinobacteria and the physico-chemical properties of the mangrove sediments of Nizampatnam and Coringa located along the South East coast of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Botany and Microbiology, between April 2010 to February 2011.

Methodology: Seasonal enumeration of actinobacteria from two different stations 1 (Nizampatnam) and 2 (Coringa) accorded by four different pre-treatments of soil sediments followed by plating onto three different media showed high incidence of actinobacteria in the month of February and least in December. Pretreatment with calcium carbonate and plating on starch casein agar yielded maximum number of actinobacteria. The strains were identified based on the morphological characteristics such as aerial mycelium, substrate mycelium, diffusible pigments and micro morphological features.

Results: The present investigation revealed that majority of the mangrove actinobacteria (69%) belongs to Streptomyces spp. Among the 55 isolates screened for antimicrobial compounds, 28 were found to be potential producers. The isolates could also produce commercially important enzymes such as L-asparaginase, cellulase and amylase. In addition the statistical study also revealed that positive correlation between the distribution of the actinomycetes and influence of physico-chemical parameters and the organic matter of the soil.

Conclusion: Our study revealed that the unexplored regions like Nizampatnam and Coringa mangrove ecosystems are proved as potential sites for antimicrobial and industrial enzyme producing actinobacteria.