How do you isolate actinomycetes?

How do you isolate actinomycetes?

In isolating actinomycetes, soil samples are collected from the study area [16-20]. To kill most of the Gram negative bacteria, the soil is dried on the bench inside the laboratory for a period of one week [17]. The soil is further held in a water bath at 50°C to further destroy other vegetative microorganisms [13].

What are actinomycetes in soil?

Denitrifiers are anaerobic, meaning they are active where oxygen is absent, such as in saturated soils or inside soil aggregates. Actinomycetes are a large group of bacteria that grow as hyphae like fungi. They are responsible for the characteristically “earthy” smell of freshly turned, healthy soil.

Why are actinomycetes abundant in the soil?

According to McCarthy and Williams (1992), organic matter, salinity, relative moisture, temperature, pH and vegetation are important factors which control abundance of actinomycetes in soil.

Why do we care about isolating actinomycetes?

Therefore, isolation and screening of actinomycetes from such areas in optimum condition may contribute the discovery of new antibiotics. Potent antibiotics from these actinomycetes could contribute a lot to fight against antibiotic resistant pathogens.

What do actinomycetes need growing?

Actinomycetes are filamentous gram-positive bacteria that can be found abundantly in both terrestrial and marine environment. The growth of marine actinomycetes is optimum at pH 7, 40 % of seasalt concentration, 20–30 °C and 7–10 days of incubation time.

How do actinomycetes affect soil?

Furthermore, actinobacteria do not contaminate the environment instead, they help sustainably in improving soil health by formation and stabilization of compost piles, formation of stable humus and combine with other soil microorganisms in breaking down the tough plant residues such as cellulose and animal residues to …

What is the order of abundance of actinomycetes in soil?

4.4. 2 Actinomycetes

How many actinomycetes are in a gram of soil?

It has been estimated that if you look at one gram of soil you will see the following numbers of organisms–bacteria 10 8-9 , actinomycetes 105-8 , fungi 105-6 , micro-algae 103-6 , protozoa 103-5 , nematodes 101-2 , other invertebrates 103-5 . A square meter of soil may contain 30-300 earthworms.

Does Actinomyces need to be treated?

In most cases of actinomycosis, antimicrobial therapy is the only treatment required, although surgery can be adjunctive in selected cases. Penicillin G is the drug of choice for treating infections caused by actinomycetes.

How are actinomycetes isolated from the dry soil?

Isolation of soil actinomycetes was done by culture-dependent methods and isolates were tested for antibiotic production on selected indicator bacteria plates. The results indicated that a total of 3.56 × 10 5 actinomycetes colonies were isolated per gram of dry soil.

How are actinomycetes used as a selective medium?

Actinomycetes Isolation Agar is a selective medium commonly employed. It contains sodium caseinate as nitrogen source. Asparagine in addition to being an amino acid is also a source of nitrogen. Sodium propionate is used as a substrate in anaerobic fermentation.

How does chitin agar prevent the growth of Actinomycetes?

The chitin agar, on the other hand, contains chitin, a complex sugar which is generally hydrolysed by Actinomycetes. Thus it is able to support the growth of only the actinomycetes and also in addition prevent the growth of other soil bacteria and fungi.

How are actinomycetes different from other Gram positive bacteria?

Actinomycetes are classified as a group of gram-positive bacteria that are unique for their spore forming abilities and formation of mycelia structures. They show marked chemical and morphological diversity but form a distinct evolutionary line of organisms that range from coccoid and pleomorphic forms to branched filaments.