Efficacy of artificial humic acid as a selective nutrient in HV agar used for the isolation of soil actinomycetes

The efficacies of various kinds of humic acid, as the source of carbon and nitrogen in HV agar reported in the previous paper, were compared to the selective isolation of soil actinomycetes. The 4 types of natural humic acid, A, B, P and Rp were prepared from different soils, and 3 kinds of artificial humic acid were made from carbohydrates and urea in our laboratory.Among the natural humic acids, type Rp, which has been reported to be associated with an initial state of humification in natural conditions, showed the greatest efficacy.However, one of the artificial humic acids, which was prepared from glucose and urea, was considered to be superior to the Rp natural humic acid: 1) The HV agar containing this artificial humic acid (HV-glucose HA agar) produced the same large number of actinomycete colonies on the plate as that of the HV agar with type Rp soil humic acid (HV-Rp agar). 2) The HV-glucose HA agar restricted the number of bacterial colonies on the plates to one-half of that on HV-Rp agar plates. 3) The quality of natural himic acids varies, whereas artificial ones are more constant and can be made in any laboratory.     

Humic acid-vitamin agar,a new medium for the selective isolation of soil actinomycetes

A new medium, designated HV agar, containing soil humic acid as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen was developed.The HV agar was superior to other currently used media, including colloidal chitin agar, glycerol-arginine agar and starch-casein-nitrate agar, for the isolation and enumeration of soil actinomycetes: It allowed the growth of the largest numbers of actinomycete colonies belonging to each genus of Streptomyces, Micromonospora, Microbispora, Streptosporangium, Nocardia, Dactylosporangium, Microtetraspora and Thermomonospora on the plate, while restricting the development of true bacteria. The HV agar supported adequate growth and good sporulation for these actinomycetes.Even when spore suspensions were used as the inoculum, the HV agar produced remarkably larger numbers of actinomycetes, especially strains of the genera Micromonospora, Microbispora, Streptosporangium, Dactylosporangium and Saccharomonospora, than did glycerol-arginine agar. It was found that the spores of these actinomycetes were activated upon germination by treatment at 20°C for 30 min with a O.2% solution of humic acid prior to incubation.     

Cultivation on cellophane agar as a method for the assay of bacterial enzymes

Production of bacterial enzymes in a liquid medium and on cellophane-agar plates is compared. Using neutral proteinase, urease, α-amylase and thiosulfate sulfurtransferase as examples it was demonstrated that the cultivation on cellophane-agar plates yields higher concentrations of the enzymes and that the enzyme production is detected in a higher number of cultures. The method might be useful for the characterization of bacterial communities.     

Calcium as a regulator of intracellular processes in actinomycetes: a review

Data on the effects of calcium ions (Ca2+) on processes of morphological and physiological differentiation in cultures of actinomycetes have been reviewed, with emphasis on representatives of the genus Streptomyces. Evidence accumulated thus far, of the regulatory role of serine-threonine protein kinases in the differentiation and of the possible involvement of Ca2+-dependent protein kinases in secondary metabolism (including antibiotic biosynthesis) are analyzed. The possibility that regulatory elements of apoptosis (including Ca2+-dependent) function in actinomycetes is discussed. A hypothesis is advanced, according to which determinants of antibiotic resistance play a key role in the network of signal transduction systems of actinomycetes.     

Marine actinomycetes as a source of novel secondary metabolites

A set of 600 actinomycetes strains which were isolated from marine sediments from various sites in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans were screened for the production of bioactive secondary metabolites. Marine streptomycete strains were found to be producers of well known chemically diverse antibiotics isolated from terrestrial streptomycetes, as in the case of marine Micromonospora strains. New marine members of the rare genus Verrucosispora seem to be a promising source for novel bioactive secondary metabolites as shown in the case of the abyssomicin producing strain AB-18-032.     

Novel method for selective isolation of actinomycetes

A new technique for the selective isolation of actinomycetes from natural mixed microbial populations is described. A nutrient agar medium was overlaid with a 0.22- to 0.45-microns-pore cellulose ester membrane filter, and the surface of the filter was inoculated. During incubation, the branched mycelia of the actinomycetes penetrated the filter pores to the underlying agar medium, whereas growth of nonactinomycete bacteria was restricted to the filter surface. The membrane filter was removed, and the agar medium was reincubated to allow the development of the isolated actinomycete colonies. This procedure selects actinomycetes on the basis of their characteristic mycelial mode of growth, offers a general method for their selective isolation, and does not rely on the use of special nutrient media or of antibacterial antibiotics.     

Use of the agar diffusion precipitation test in the diagnosis of hog cholera

The application of the agar diffusion precipitation (ADP) test for diagnosing hog cholera was investigated. The test used as antigen, pancreatic tissue from 272 pigs that had been inoculated with hog cholera virus. The test was positive for 13.5% of the animals that were sick for 4 days or less, 40% of those sick for 5 days, and 77% of those sick for 6 days or more. The test was positive for 13.5% of all animals that had been vaccinated with crystal violet-glycerol hog cholera vaccine and had been sick for at least 6 days after challenge inoculation. Titration of the virus in ADP-test-negative and ADP-test-positive pancreatic suspensions did not show a direct correlation between the infective virus particle and the precipitating antigen.     

Hudson River sediments as a source of actinomycetes exhibiting antifungal activity

Summary Actinomycetes were isolated from sediments obtained from the Hudson River. Pretreatments utilized to improve the recovery of these microorganisms included heat and exposure to phenol or benzalkonium chloride. In addition, plating of sediment samples on selective agar substrates was also employed. These pretreatments eliminated or severely limited the growth of contaminating microorganisms thereby facilitating the isolation of actinomycetes. Of 165 isolates obtained, 22 exhibited significant antimycotic activity following growth in submerged culture. Among the test fungi examined, Candida krusei and Trichoderma viride proved to be the most susceptible to the active substances present in the fermentation broths. All but three of the latter contained polyenes. With one exception, the bioactive actinomycetes were identified as streptomycetes.