Investigation of antimicrobial activities of Streptomyce isolates from soil in Ho Chi Minh city

Abstract

In order to survive in a highly competitive environment, Streptomyces genus of Streptomycetaceae family must produce secondary metabolites known as antimicrobial agents, notably antibiotics to inhibit or kill other microorganism to seize nutrition, space and oxygen. Nowadays, more than 70% of total natural origins antibiotics still deprived from Streptomyces which make them one of the most prolific antibiotics producers in pharmaceutical industry. In this project, soil samples were taken from specific sites with high probability of pathogenic bacteria occurrence in Ho Chi Minh City to isolate Streptomyces species and evaluate their potential of producing antimicrobial compounds. In total, we have obtained 54 isolates from 3 different locations. Among those, two isolates (LTB08 and LTB50) have particularly high antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC29123 and moderate antimicrobial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC9027. It showed that sewage infested soil can be a potential environmental niche to isolate Streptomyces species with promising antimicrobial property.