Abstract
Actinomycetes constitute a large group of Gram-positive bacteria present in different habitats. One of these habitats involves the association of these bacteria with insects. In this work, we have studied twenty-four actinomycetes strains isolated from the intestinal tract and feces from larvae of the xylophagous coleopteran Cerambyx welensii and have shown that seventeen strains present hydrolytic activity of some of the following substrates: cellulose, hemicellulose, starch and proteins. Fourteen of the isolates produce antimicrobial molecules against the Gram-positive bacteria Micrococcus luteus. Analysis of seven strains led us to identify the production of a wide number of compounds including streptanoate, alpiniamide A, alteramides A and B, coproporphyrin III, deferoxamine, demethylenenocardamine, dihydropicromycin, nocardamine, picromycin, surugamides A, B, C, D and E, tirandamycins A and B, and valinomycin. A significant number of other compounds, whose molecular formulae are not included in the Dictionary of Natural Products (DNP), were also present in the extracts analyzed, which opens up the possibility of identifying new active antibiotics. Molecular identification of ten of the isolated bacteria determined that six of them belong to the genus Streptomyces, two of them are included in the genus Amycolatopsis and two in the genus Nocardiopsis.
Highlights
Cellulose, lignin, hemicellulose and chitin are the four most abundant polymers on Earth
We have studied twenty-four actinomycetes strains isolated from the intestinal tract and feces from larvae of the xylophagous coleopteran Cerambyx welensii and have shown that seventeen strains present hydrolytic activity of some of the following substrates: cellulose, hemicellulose, starch and proteins
Streptomyces, and others actinobacteria, have been isolated as suitable defensive partners associated with different insects [11], and it is known that Streptomyces and Pseudonocardia defend the fungal garden of leaf-cutting ants from pathogenic fungus [12]
Summary
Lignin, hemicellulose and chitin are the four most abundant polymers on Earth. Biological degradation is carried out mainly by fungi and bacteria, which produce the hydrolytic and oxidative enzymes used to recycle compounds, generating the different monomers or precursors that may be metabolized by the organisms themselves or by others These decomposer microorganisms form part of complex ecosystems in which other higher organisms are sometimes implicated. In-depth studies on Streptomyces strains isolated from these habitats have shown that termite gut-associated actinobacteria produce secondary antimicrobial compounds that may be important for pathogen inhibition in the habitats of these insects [9]. Streptomyces, and others actinobacteria, have been isolated as suitable defensive partners associated with different insects [11], and it is known that Streptomyces and Pseudonocardia defend the fungal garden of leaf-cutting ants from pathogenic fungus [12]. LC/HRMS analyses of their extracts, some of the molecules produced, under laboratory conditions, were identified as streptanoate, alpiniamide A, alteramides A and B, coproporphyrin III, deferoxamine demethylenenocardamine, dihydropicromycin, nocardamine, picromycin, surugamides A, B, C, D and E, tirandamycins A and B, and valinomycin
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