Antimicrobial Production by an Actinomycetes Isolated from The Termite Nest

Abstract

Actinomycetes are Gram positive bacteria that have been detected in diverse ecological niches. Their member species are known to be a main source of various bioactive compounds. The discovery of Actinomycetes from diverse and unexplored resources has also been linked to increased opportunities to obtain novel bioactive compounds. Insect nest material is being investigated as a new source of novel antimicrobial producing Actinomycetes, which could be harnessed for therapeutic potential. A total of 10 Actinomycetes isolates were collected from the nest of Nasutitermes sp. in Pananjung Pangandaran Nature Reserve. These isolates were evaluated for antimicrobial activity against the challenge bacteria (Eschericia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Serratia marcescens) and fungi (Fomitopsis palustris, Fusarium oxysporum, Trichoderma viridae) by dual culture method. The result revealed that several isolates were active against fungi and bacteria. Isolate Pn-TN2 showed the highest level of antibacterial inhibition and the highest antifungal inhibition with Inhibition Rate value more than 80%. By morphological and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis strongly suggested that the isolate Pn-TN2 belonged to Streptomyces prasinopilosus. We suggested that termite nest is a potential source of bioactive strains of cultivable Actinomycetes for future biotechnological needs. active compounds for further biotechnology application in the medical, pharmaceutical, and agricultural fields.

Profiling the Functional Diversity of Termite Mound Soil Bacteria as Revealed by Shotgun Sequencing

“…This may in turn have an effect of the bacterial diversity in termite mound soils [1]. Some bacteria isolated from termite mound soils could serve as potential materials for the following: Antimicrobial production [3,4], bioremediation [5], bio-filtering [6], biofertilizers, and biocontrol [7]. The presence of these bacteria may lead to an increase in soil fertility and crop production, health improvement, and environmental sustainability [8].…”

The tropical cookbook: Termite diet and phylogenetics—Over geographical origin—Drive the microbiome and functional genetic structure of nests

“…Our results agree with the published termite literature regarding the bacterial taxonomic composition of nests. Actinomycetales were reported as dominant in termite nests (Krishanti et al, 2018 ). These are Gram-positive bacteria capable of forming branching hyphae, related to nutrient recycling roles (Goodfellow and Williams, 2003 ), and have been used for the production of secondary metabolites, accounting for a very large fraction of all bioactive secondary metabolites in use in industry (Olano et al, 2008 ).…”

Termite diet rather than geographical origin determines the microbiome composition and functional genetic structure of nests from South American and African representatives, as revealed by a multiomics approach

“…The results from our study agree with the published termite literature regarding the bacterial taxonomic composition of nests. Actinomycetales were reported as dominant in termite nests (Krishanti et al, 2018). These are Gram-positive bacteria capable of forming branching hyphae, and related to nutrient recycling roles (Goodfellow and Williams, 2003), and have been used for production of secondary metabolites, accounting for a very large fraction of all bioactive secondary metabolites in use at industry (Olano et al, 2008).…”