ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF ANTIBIOTIC PRODUCING MICROORGANISMS FROM SOIL

Antibiotics are most important commercially used secondary metabolites, produced by many soil microorganisms i.e., bacteria and fungi and employed in wide range. Most important antibiotics used today are of microbial origin. The emergence of the antibiotic resistance and need of broad spectrum antibiotics is in focus and in demand. In present study, soil samples from different areas were collected i.e., the sampling is classified based on its micro and macro environment (waste polluted soil) (normal street soil) and (agricultural soil), from a local soil and analyzed for the antibiotic production. After primary screening, bacterial isolates were identified as Micrococcus roseus, Brevibacterium sp., Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus cerus, through biochemical characterization, and fungal isolates were identified as Tricho-cladium opacum, Rhizocotania sp., Epicoccum nipponicum, Aspergillus niger and Cladosporium cladosporides through microscopic and macroscopic identification and checked for antibiotic activity against some common gram positive and negative bacteria namely, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The antibiotic test indicates that Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus anthracis, Epicoccum nipponicum, Aspergillus niger and Cladosporium cladosporides showed antimicrobial activity against Saureus whereas against E. coli, Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cerus, Bacillus subtilis, Trichocladium opacum and Cladosporium cladosporides produces zone of inhibition. This study suggests that Bacillus species have the potential to produce antibiotics and can be used to control the microbial growth in future. Strains of antibiotic producing fungi could be harnessed by pharmaceutical industries and used in medicinal purposes. This work may provide potential information on the antibiotic production and further be used for the control of microbial strains.