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Biodiversity and biological applications of marine actinomycetes—Abu-Qir Bay, Mediterranean Sea, Egypt

Summary

Researchers isolated bacteria called actinomycetes from the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt that naturally produce colorful pigments. They found that one specific bacterium (Streptomyces tunisiensis) produces a green pigment with promising anti-inflammatory properties similar to common pain relievers. By optimizing the growth conditions, the scientists increased pigment production by over 12 times, suggesting potential applications in medicine and industry.

Background

Actinomycetes are important prokaryotes capable of producing bioactive secondary metabolites with pharmaceutical and industrial applications. Marine actinomycetes account for over 50% of all known bioactive secondary metabolites in nature. Abu-Qir Bay in Egypt’s Mediterranean coast was selected for study due to its rich microflora from agricultural drainage.

Objective

To isolate and characterize marine actinomycetes from Abu-Qir Bay sediments and identify pigment-producing strains with biological applications. To study the biodiversity of actinomycetes and optimize pigment production conditions for anti-inflammatory activity.

Results

Starch casein medium yielded the highest actinomycete counts (30-63 CFU/g), with Abu-Qir 8 showing the highest average count of 63 CFU/g. Twelve isolates clustered into four main groups with differing characteristics. Streptomyces tunisiensis W4 was identified as the most promising pigment and antimicrobial producer, achieving 12.2-fold increase in pigment production under optimized conditions. The pigment demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity, preventing BSA protein denaturation at concentrations above safe dose levels.

Conclusion

Marine actinomycetes play a vital role in producing novel bioactive metabolites with industrial and pharmaceutical applications. Streptomyces species are the most important actinomycetes for metabolite production. Optimized culture conditions significantly enhance pigment yield and biological activity with potential therapeutic applications.
  • Published in:Journal of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology,
  • Study Type:Laboratory Research Study,
  • Source: PMID: 38015326, DOI: 10.1186/s43141-023-00612-8
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