Characterization of Halophilic Antagonistic Actinomycetes Isolated from Solar Saltpan of Tamilnadu, India .

The actinomycetes are existing in various habitats in nature. The terrestrial forms have been extensively used for the production
of secondary metabolites and used to treat infectious diseases. However the extreme counterparts have reminded relatively
unknown and unexploited. The soil from the saltpan regions of Cuddalore, Parangipettai and Portonovo Tamilnadu, India were
screened for the isolation of antagonistic actinomycetes. In the present study, morphologically diverge four actinomycete
isolates were obtained from different sampling station were identified as Streptomyces species. All the four actinomycetes were
screened for preliminary antibacterial activity. Out of four strains screened, one strain Streptomyces sp SBU1 showed most
promising antagonistic activity against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Secondary
screening of the actinomycetes ethyl acetate extract also exhibited optimistic antibacterial activity against P.aeruginosa (22 mm)
followed by S.aureus (19 mm) and E.coli (18 mm). Partially purified column chromatography fractions (fraction 1 and 2)
showed significant antimicrobial activity against P.aeruginosa (16 mm). A single separate band of the antimicrobial compound
was observed by TLC. The Rf value of fraction 1 and fraction 2 was 0.83 and 0.75 respectively. The present investigation
indicates that the solar saltpan soil harbors diverse species of actinomycetes possessing potent antibacterial activity.