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Diversity and Antimicrobial Activity of Endophytic Actinomycetes Isolated from Plant Roots in Thailand

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Abstract

In this study, 37 endophytic actinomycetes were isolated from roots of 14 plant species obtained in Thailand, where biological diversity is known to be high. The isolates were identified as members of the genera Micromonospora (21 isolates), Streptomyces (14 isolates), Plantactinospora (1 isolate), and Polymorphospora (1 isolate) based on their phenotypic characteristics and the 16S rRNA gene sequence . The most frequent isolates (56.8%) were members of the genus Micromonospora. The antimicrobial activity screening showed that seven Micromonospora isolates and eight Streptomyces isolates were active against Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Kocuria rhizophila ATCC 9341 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538p. To our knowledge, the isolates showed the difference of antimicrobial activity based on the production media. Moreover, this study suggested Thai plant species to be valuable sources of interesting endophytic actinomycetes producing antimicrobial metabolites.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We faithfully thank Dr. A. Matsumoto Department of Drug Discovery, Kitasato University for her help with the antimicrobial activity assay. We also thank the 2015 Royal Golden Jubilee Ph. D. Program as a scholarship to N. K. for financial support under the Thailand Research Fund.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, 10330, Bangkok, Thailand

    N. Kuncharoen & S. Tanasupawat

  2. Graduate School of Infection Control Sciences, Kitasato University, 108-8641, Tokyo, Minato-ku, Japan

    W. Fukasawa, M. Mori & K. Shiomi

  3. Kitasato Institute for Life Sciences, Kitasato University, 108-8641, Tokyo, Minato-ku, Japan

    W. Fukasawa, M. Mori & K. Shiomi

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  1. N. Kuncharoen
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  2. W. Fukasawa
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Correspondence to S. Tanasupawat.

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Kuncharoen, N., Fukasawa, W., Mori, M. et al. Diversity and Antimicrobial Activity of Endophytic Actinomycetes Isolated from Plant Roots in Thailand. Microbiology 88, 479–488 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0026261719040088

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