Characterization of Actinomycetes from Soil Sample of Nahargarh Hill Area, Jaipur, India for Production of Antimicrobial Compounds and Enzymes

Actinomycetes play an important role in the decomposition of various organic materials and replenish the supply of nutrients in the soil. They also produce many secondary metabolites possessing antimicrobial properties. The present study was conducted to determine the antibacterial and enzyme producing capabilities of soil Actinomycetes isolated from Nahargarh hill area, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. A total of 26 isolates of pigmented Actinomycetes were recovered from soil sample and screened for their antibacterial activity against five bacterial strains. Two of the total isolates possessed broad spectrum activity against all test bacteria. 46% of the isolates showed antagonistic activity against at least one of the test bacterium. Six distinctly pigmented isolates were selected for genus identification studies based on cultural, morphological and biochemical analysis. Results indicated that they belonged to the genus Streptomyces. Preliminary screening for production of hydrolytic enzymes by selected isolates showed that amylase was produced by all isolates. Thus soil Actinomycetes are the potential source of industrially important enzymes and antimicrobial compounds.