CHARACTERIZATION AND ANTIMICROBIAL POTENTIAL OF MARINE ACTINOMYCETES FROM ESTUARIES OF UTTARA KANNADA DISTRICT, KARNATAKA

The oceans cover about 70% of the Earth’s surface and harbor most of the planets biodiversity. The marine environment has become a prime resource in search and discovery for novel natural products and biological diversity and marine actinomycetes turn out to be important contributors. The diversity of marine actinomycetes is enormous and has immense scope for the discovery of novel bioactive metabolites. The present study describes the antimicrobial potential of crude extracts of marine Actinomycetes species isolated from Aghanashini, Sharavathi and Kali estuaries of Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka, India. The sediment and water samples were collected from different sites of estuaries and subjected for serial dilution and plating. A total of 43 actinomycetes isolates were obtained on Starch Casein Nitrate Agar and Kusters Agar supplemented with 10% sea water. The isolates were identified as Actinomycetes by morphological and biochemical studies. The results revealed diversity of Actinomycetes with varying spore, aerial and substrate mycelium colours such as white, grey, pink, yellow and black. The colonies formed were discrete, powdery, raised and velvety colonies with brown, yellow and maroon pigmentations. The spore chain morphology studies showed different arrangements like rectus, flexibilis, retinaculum aperatum – open loops, hooks and spira – simple spirals. Primary screening for antimicrobial activity was determined by cross streak method against 16 bacterial isolates among which 07 isolates were gram positive and 09 isolates were gram negative, 02 yeasts viz., Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans and a dermatophyte Trichosporon. The actinomycetes isolates from marine environments have shown to be potent in inhibiting the test bacteria and fungi. Further studies on cytotoxic potential of the actinomycetes isolates on cell lines are under progress