INVESTIGATIONS ON MARINE ACTINOMYCETES FROM BAY OF BENGAL NEAR GANGAVARAM COAST OF ANDHRA PRADESH.

Abstract

Bay of Bengal Ocean near Gangavaram coast of Andhra Pradesh, India was investigated as a source of actinomycetes to screen for the production of novel bioactive compounds. During our investigation on marine actinomycetes from 6 different marine samples, a total of 51 actinomycetes with distinct characteristics were isolated by plating on starch casein agar medium. The antimicrobial and enzymatic activities were studied for all the isolates. The preliminary study for antimicrobial activity by cross streak method indicated that 21 isolates (41.1%) have excellent antagonistic properties. All these 21 isolates were subjected to detailed submerged fermentation studies. It was observed that 12 isolates (23.5%) exhibited antibacterial activity, 9 isolates (17.6%) showed antifungal activity while 3 isolates (5.8%) showed both antibacterial and antifungal activities. All the isolates were also subjected for the determination of enzymatic activities. 41 isolates (80.3%) exhibited amylolytic activity while 48 isolates (94.1%) showed proteolytic activity.