Abstract:
Termites are an important group of insects that harbor a complex community of gut
microbes which contribute to digestion and termite nutrition. Fungus-cultivating
termites harbour dense populations of bacteria and archaea in the gut. Actinobacteria are
known to produce a wide variety of secondary metabolites including many
commercially important enzymes and antibiotics. The aim of this study was to isolate
Actinobacteria from guts of fungus-cultivating termites Macrotermes michaelseni using
solid KMM1 medium and screen for their ability to produce industrially useful enzymes
and antibiotics. The isolates were characterized using morphological, physiochemical,
biochemical and molecular methods. A total of ten isolates were obtained. The isolates
produced amylases, lipases, proteases and esterases. All the isolates, apart from KMM1,
KMGC6, KMGC8 and KMGT9 produced gelatinases, xylanases and cellulases. All the
isolates showed inhibition against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The
isolates grew well at pH 6 and temperature of 40oC. They preferentially utilized glucose
and did not require sodium chloride for growth. Analysis of partial sequences of 16S
rRNA genes confirmed isolate KMM2, KMM3, KMM4, KMM5, KMGC7, KMGC8
and KMGT10 belonged to the genus Streptomyces while KMM1 and KMGC6 were
close relatives of Bacillus. These results confirmed that guts of fungus-cultivating
termites harbor Actinobacteria that can produce enzymes and antibiotics.
