Recent advancement in Biotechnological and Molecular approaches of Actinomycetes: A review

Actinomycetes are a diverse group of medically, industrially and ecologically important bacteria, studied as much for the diseases they cause as for the cures they hold. Along with also as a source of industrial important product which are helpful for mankind. However, many of the rare genera of actinomycetes have been neither explored nor manipulated for their biotechnological and industrial potential. With the help of molecular approaches and recent advances in genomics and sequencing technologies, microbial community analyses using culture-independent molecular techniques have initiated a new era of actinomycetes ecology. This review summarizes recent progress in the area of molecular microbial ecology with an emphasis on novel techniques and approaches that offer new insights into the phylogenetic and functional diversity of actinomycetes assemblages for better production of qualitative and quantitative industrial and pharmaceutical products . KeywordsActinomycetes, diversity, Molecular approach, compounds, RAPD, RFLP, and metagenomics. Received 03.07.2014 Revised 11.07.2014 Accepted 10.08.2014 INTRODUCTION Actinomycetes: Biotechnological aspects Actinobacteria belong to the subdivision Actinomycetales of the Prokaryotae.They form a distinct phylogenetic line in the 16S rDNA tree and have been of major scientific interest in the past decades, with the discovery a large number of metabolites produced by its diverse genera. Actinobacterial metabolites have a major biotechnological contribution from antibiotics to enzyme inhibitors and anti-cancer agents to various alkaloids. Actinobacteria are ubiquitously distributed in terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments and are involved in the breakdown of organic matter and xenobiotic compounds. [1]. Actinobacteria are Gram positive, filamentous organisms inhabiting the soil. They are wide spread in distribution[2,3]. They produce a vast array of secondary metabolites such as enzyme[4] immunomodulators, antibiotics, antihelminthic and anticancer agents[5-7]. Among them Streptomyces, the wellknown saprophytes of the soil are the major producer of antibiotics[8]. About 75-80% of the drugs available commercially are being derived from Streptomyces [5,6]. Reports reveal that the continuous screening of actinobacteria, especially Streptomyces, will lead to the discovery of 100 000 new compounds with diverse applications[9]. It presence is diverse and it found in soil, water, air, rhizosphere region. Most of the pharmaceutical and industrial compound were isolated from marine actinomycetes [10,11]. Actinomycetes identification and characterization: Molecular approach