Molecular and functional characterization of myxobacteria isolated from soil in India

This study reports the isolation of myxobacteria from soil collected from plains in north India. Based on the morphology and 16S rDNA sequence, the isolated myxobacteria were identified as Corallococcus sp., Pyxidicoccus sp., Myxococcus sp., Cystobacter sp. and Archangium sp. The myxobacteria were functionally characterized to assess their ability to produce antibacterial and anticancer metabolites. The isolates were found to be functionally versatile as they produced extracellular bioactive molecules that exhibited high frequency of activities against Bacillus cereus, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Enterobacter cloacae and Pseudomonas syringae. The strains also showed cytotoxic activity against the human cancer cell lines of liver, pancreas, prostrate, bone and cervix. These results indicate the importance of isolating diverse strains of myxobacteria from unexplored habitats to find novel bioactive compounds. Moreover, the bioactive molecules explored in this study are predominantly hydrophilic compounds, obviating the limitations of solubility-related aspect of drug discovery.