European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

ACTINOBACTERIA FROM MANGROVE HABITATS: DIVERSITY AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY

Krishna Naragani and Vijayalakshmi Muvva*

ABSTRACT

The mangrove ecosystem is considered as the natural reservoir of resources likely to provide innovative applications. It facilitates the growth of diverse microorganisms. The present study was carried out to assess seasonal enumeration and antimicrobial activity of actinobacteria from two mangrove ecosystems namely Nizampatnam and Gilakaladindi located along the south coast of Andhra Pradesh, India. The samples collected from these locations were pretreated with calcium carbonate and plated on three different selective media. High actinobacterial count was found on the starch-casein agar medium, when compared to asparagine glucose agar and glycerol-asparagine agar media. The incidence of actinobacterial population in two mangrove ecosystems exhibited seasonal variation. The high count of actinobacteria in two locations was observed in January while the count was minimum in July. Out of 55 strains screened for antimicrobial activity, seven were found effective against test bacteria. Among the seven actinobacterial strains, two highly potent strains were identified by morphological, cultural, physiological, biochemical characteristics and 16S rRNA analysis. The strains were identified as Nocardiopsis alba VLK-A and Streptomyces albiaxialis VLK-10.

Keywords: Mangrove ecosystem; Actinobacteria; Diversity.