ECONOMIC

IMPORTANCE OF
ACTINOMYCETES
•Actinomycetes are the general group of organisms,
which are heterotrophic, prokaryotes and produce
hyphae at some stage of their growth.

•Most of them are saprophytes, some are parasitic or

mutualistic with plants and animals.

•They are ubiquitous and are generally mesophiles.

•Thermophiles - obligate- Thermoactinomyces,

Saccharomonospora
>40⁰C
• facultative - Microbiospora, Micropolyspora
Streptomyces, Pseudonocardia
Thermomonospora etc
CAUSAL AGENTS OF DISEASE
•Members of actinomycetes have been proved
pathogenic to both animals and plants

•Plant actinomycete pathogens include the

coryneform actinomycetes and
Streptomycetes causing scab of potatoes and sugar
beet.

•The first plant pathogen Streptomyces scabies, was

isolated from potato scab by Thaxter in 1891
Actinomyces bovis
 ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE.

•Actinomycetes have varying morphology, physiology and

nutritional characters

•Hence this group is the potent producers of antibiotics,

enzymes and enzyme inhibitors, enzymes, enzyme
inhibitors, growth promoting substances for plants and
animals

•In nature they act as many molecule transformers and assist

in many chemical reactions.
•Antibacterial (streptomycin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol)

•Antifungal (nystatin)

• Antiviral (tunicamycin),

•Antiparasitic (avermectin),

•Immunosuppressive (rapamycin),

•Antitumor (actinomycin, mitomycinC, anthracyclines),

•Enzyme inhibitory (clavulanic acid) and

•Diabetogenic (bafilomycin,
streptozotocin),
•Cancer (doxorubicins, daunorubicin, mitomycin and
bleomycin),
•Transplant rejection (cyclosporine and rapamycin) and
High cholesterol (statins such as lovastatin and
mevastatin.
 ANTIBIOTICS
•Many antibiotics known are of the actinomycete origin
EXAMPLES:
aminoglycosides,
anthracyclines,
chloramphenicol,
ß-lactams,
macrolides,
tetracyclines,
nucleosides,
peptides,
polyenes and polyethers.
•Until 1974 most of the antibiotics discovered were
confined to the Streptomyces, which is one of the main
antibiotic producer, over 60 different antibiotics of
animal and plant interest have been discovered
Egs: streptomycin, neomycin, tetracycline, nystatin

Later attempts and attentions were shifted towards the

members of Actinomadura, Actinoplanes, Ampullariella,
Actinosynnema, Dactylosporangium, Kibdilosporangium
etc for new antibiotics.
Streptomyces sp.
 Actinomadura
Dactylosporangium

Ampullariella
ENZYMES
•Many enzymes are used in the field of food
processing , textile industries, detergent manufacturing,
pharmaceutical industries, medical therapies,
bioorganic chemistry, molecular biology.

OXIDOREDUCTASES
• Cortisone reductase isolated from Streptomyces
hydrogenans – used in model studies on effect of
substituents introduced to steroid nucleus and the
nature of steroid binding site on the substrate structure
relationship.
•Cholesterol oxidase - Nocardia and Streptomyces has been
used for determination of cholesterol in blood serum.

•Choline oxidase - Streptomyces nigrifaciens has been

applied in tests used for the determination of the levels of
phospholipids in blood serum of patients with liver
complaints such as obstructive jaundice.

•Thermolysin family of enzymes (M4) is employed in the

production of a dipeptide sweetner, aspartame which is
•used in food industry
•Urate oxidase from Streptomyces cyanogenus has
been attempted to
•treat patients suffering from hyperuraemia and primary
gout.

•M4 is employed in the production of a dipeptide

sweetener, aspartame

•Urate oxidase from Streptomyces cyanogenus has been

attempted to treat patients suffering from hyperuraemia
and primary gout.
Streptomyces cyanogenus
•Transferases like acetyltransferase effect acetylation in
Gentamicin, Kanamycin, neomycin B, Sissomycin,
Tobramycin and Paromomycin have been found in
Streptomyces spectabilis and Streptomyces
kanamyceticus

•Hydrolases like lipases, phospholipases, amylases,

cellulases, endonucleases, xyianases, chitinases and
peptide hydrolases are derived from actinomycetes and
are used for medical and biotechnological purpose
Streptomyces kanamyceticus
Streptomyces spectabilis
•Glycosidases of all kinds are exploited for the
degradation of plant biomass.

• Proteases from actinomycetes serve as additives to

detergents or are used in the tanning industry.

•Glucose isomerase syrups have been used to obtain

fructose heavy syrup

•Bacteriolytic or mocolytic enzymes obtained from the

actinomycetes are used in beer and wine clarification or
as no toxic food preservants.
•In clinical diagnostics- cholesterol esterase is used
to determine the total amount of cholesterol in the
body fluid.

•Uric acid and L-glutamate levels can be determined

by using urate oxidase and L-glutamate oxidase
respectively.
TRANSFORMATION OF XENOBIOTICS:

•Characteristic reactions involved in the transformation

of xenobiotics: oxidation, reduction, hydrolysis,
dehydration and condensation

•The ability of actinomycetes to be able to perform

these reactions make them very useful in the
transformation of xenobiotics such as,
 biodegradation of pollutants in soil and water and in
the
biodegradation of pesticides, oil spills, chemical
waste decomposition.
•Nocardia and Streptomyces perform highly selective
transformations of both compounds of synthetic and natural
origin.

•Actinomycetes are also capable of degrading some pesticides-

Nocardia strains isolated from the soil was found to degrade
the herbicide, dalapon, 2,2, dichloropropionic acid,

•Streptomyces aureofaciens, Streptomyces cinnamonensis and

Nocardia erythropolis was found to dechlorinate DDT.
Nocardia
Streptomyces cinnamonensis
 ENZYME INHIBITORS
•Enzyme inhibitors obtained from actinomycetes are finding
possible uses in cancer treatment.
Revistin, Streptonigrin and Retrostatin are enzyme
inhibitors, from Streptomyces sp. inhibit reverse transcriptase.
ACTINOMYCETES IN AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY :

•Free living actinomycetes isolated from the rhizosphere of

the pines have found to be indirectly influencing the
enhanced growth of plant.

•Lignocellulose is converted to humus by Streptomyces

and hence adds desirable properties to soil.

•Streptomyces griseoviridis has been reported to be

antagonistic to a variety of plant pathogens including
Alternaria brassicola ,Botrytis cinerea ,Fusarium
avenaceum, F. culmorum F. oxysporum
•Streptomyces griseoviridis strain K61 is used in
root dipping or growth nutrient treatment of cut
flowers, potted plants, greenhouse cucumbers,
and various other vegetables
•Mycostop™ is a biofungicide that contains S.
griseoviridis as the active ingredient.
 In vitro biocontrol activity of Streptomyces spp .
 BIODEGRADATION OF AGRICULTURAL AND
URBAN WASTES.

•Members of actinimycetes are capable of bio converting

underutilizes urban and agricultural wastes.

•Streptomyces are best know lignin degraders and they

biodegrade Lignocellulose.
•Thermomonospora solubilise lignin and find
application in biological bleaching of pulps or in
biological pulping processes

•Amylolytic actinomycetes are used for

Bioconversion of starch wastes derived from food
processing

•Streptomyces lavendulae found to be a degrader of

cyanide. It has a rhodanase enzyme that transfers
sulphur from sodium thiosulphate to cyanide
Thermomonospora
Streptomyces lavendulae
•Streptomyces phaeoviridae and
Micromonospora braunna ( both isolated from soil)
•Streptomyces humidus,
Streptomyces rochei and
Sporichthya polymorpha - degrade cyanide.
found to degrade cyanide
•http://
lib.unipune.ac.in:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/823/07_
chapter%201.pdf?sequence=7&isAllowed=y
•https://www.researchgate.net/figure/a-Colony-morphology-of-Stre
ptomyces-albogriseolus-ECR64-on-SCA-b-Scanning-electron_fig
6_325251548
•Doumbou, C. L., Hamby Salove, M. K., Crawford, D. L., &
Beaulieu, C. (2005). Actinomycetes, promising tools to control
plant diseases and to promote plant growth. Phytoprotection, 82(3),
90–92. https://doi.org/10.7202/706219ar

•https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308900787_Actinomyce
tes

•https://www.actino.jp/index-e.html
THANK YOU
Presented by,
Sourabha B R