TAXONOMICAL STUDIES ON CERTAIN STREPTOMYCETES EXHIBITING ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY ISOLATED FROM EGYPTIAN SOILS

Abstract

The easy access and appropriate use of antimicrobials led to selection and spread of resistant microorganisms strains. It is imperative to search and screen for new and more effective antimicrobials from microorganisms found in the environment. The objective of this work is to isolate streptomycetes from soil of Kalubiya Governorate in order to screen them for antimicrobial activity against reference Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacteria as well as unicellular and filamentous fungi. A total of 500 strains of streptomycetes were isolated. Sixty strains (12 %) showed antimicrobial activity. The morphological, cultural, physiological and biochemical characters were studied for identification of the isolates at species level. The obtain-ed results revealed that the dominant group was Streptomyces lydicus