The Occurrence of Bioactive Micromonosporae in Aquatic Habitats of the Sunshine Coast in Australia

Glen P Eccleston,D Ipek Kurtböke,Peter R Brooks

doi:10.3390/md6020243

Abstract

Screening strategies based on the ecological knowledge of antibiotic producing microorganisms and their roles in the natural environment are being increasingly employed in the search for novel antibiotic agents. Micromonosporae are common inhabitants of aquatic habitats and have proved to be a continuing source of novel bioactive compounds including antibacterial and antitumor agents. The ecological distribution and frequency of bioactive micromonosporae in Sunshine Coast region aquatic habitats were studied through a range of selective isolation procedures designed to negatively select against the isolation of unwanted microbial taxa commonly associated with marine environments. It was revealed that bioactive compound producing species of micromonosporae were present in the aquatic habitats of the Sunshine Coast region in Australia.

Highlights

The search for novel therapeutic agents for use in the pharmaceutical industry is driven by the need to combat the increase in the incidence of infection due to antibiotic resistant pathogens coupled with the search for novel antitumor and antiviral compounds [3, 20]
Rusnak et al, [52] have reported the isolation of a mixture of polycyclic aromatic compounds with activity against Gram-positive bacteria from a gentamicin producing species of Micromonospora stressing once more the fascinating biosynthetic potential of the taxon members in the production of diverse compounds. In line with this discovery the present study has investigated the occurrence of bioactive compound producing micromonoporae with particular emphasis on the gentamicin production from aquatic samples and sediments within Sunshine Coast habitats
Actinomycetes resistant to gentamicin were isolated from 20 of the 23 sediment samples collected at Sunshine Coast aquatic habitats on isolation media containing 1 μg/ml of gentamicin (Fig 1)

Summary

Introduction

The search for novel therapeutic agents for use in the pharmaceutical industry is driven by the need to combat the increase in the incidence of infection due to antibiotic resistant pathogens coupled with the search for novel antitumor and antiviral compounds [3, 20]. In line with this discovery the present study has investigated the occurrence of bioactive compound producing micromonoporae with particular emphasis on the gentamicin production from aquatic samples and sediments within Sunshine Coast habitats. Actinomycetes resistant to gentamicin were isolated from 20 of the 23 sediment samples collected at Sunshine Coast aquatic habitats on isolation media containing 1 μg/ml of gentamicin (Fig 1).

Results

Conclusion