Isolation of Actinomycetes with Cellulolytic and Antimicrobial Activities from Soils Collected from an Urban Green Space in the Philippines

Actinomycetes are one of the most important groups of soil bacteria that are recognized as sources of commercially important enzymes and antimicrobials. Actinomycetes, however, are largely underestimated and uncharacterized in underexplored habitats such as green spaces in urban areas. This study aimed to isolate actinomycetes from soils in the University of the Philippines Diliman campus and determine their cellulolytic and antimicrobial activities. A total of 235 isolates were purified from the soil samples collected. Cellulolytic and antimicrobial activities were observed in 114 and 18 isolates, respectively. The cell-free supernatants of 31 isolates exhibited high cellulolytic activities. Two isolates, in particular EWLG2 and EPNA9, had 0.596 FPU and 0.885 FPU cellulolytic activity, respectively. Seven isolates exhibited antimicrobial activities in the screening methods used. The crude extracts of isolates AWLG9, AWLG8, AWLG10, AULG1, APLG2, and AWLG13 had minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) values ranging from 31.25 µg/mL to 500 µg/mL against Candida spp. Isolates AULG1 and EPLG5 were active against the bacterial test microorganisms and had MIC values ranging from 250 µg/mL to 500 µg/mL. DNA sequencing identified the isolates which exhibited high cellulolytic and antimicrobial activities as Bacillus sp. and Streptomyces sp., with percent identities ≥98%. This study shows that green spaces are rich sources of soil microorganisms that have cellulolytic and antimicrobial activities. It is recommended that the isolates obtained in this study be examined further for possible applications in bioethanol production and pharmacology