Saccharothrix sp. PAL54, a new chloramphenicol-producing strain isolated from a Saharan soil

• Published in: World journal of microbiology & biotechnology Vol. 28; no. 3; pp. 943 - 951
• Main Authors: Aouiche, Adel, Sabaou, Nasserdine, Meklat, Atika, Zitouni, Abdelghani, Bijani, Christian, Mathieu, Florence, Lebrihi, Ahmed
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-03-2012; Springer Nature B.V; Springer Verlag
• Subjects: Actinomycetales - classification; Actinomycetales - genetics; Actinomycetales - isolation & purification; Actinomycetales - metabolism; Africa, Northern; Algeria; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Applied Microbiology; Bacteria; Biochemistry; Biochemistry, Molecular Biology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Chemical engineering; Chemical Sciences; Chloramphenicol - chemistry; Chloramphenicol - metabolism; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Cluster Analysis; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA, Bacterial - chemistry; DNA, Bacterial - genetics; DNA, Ribosomal - chemistry; DNA, Ribosomal - genetics; Drug resistance; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; Gram-negative bacteria; Gram-Negative Bacteria - drug effects; Gram-Positive Bacteria - drug effects; Life Sciences; Liquid chromatography; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Mass Spectrometry; Microbiology; Molecular Sequence Data; Morphology; Nosocomial infection; Nosocomial infections; Nucleic Acid Hybridization; Original Paper; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Saccharothrix; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Soil Microbiology; Soil microorganisms; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; Studies; Taxonomy; Thermal cycling; Africa, Northern; Algeria; Chloramphenicol; Antibacterial activities; Taxonomy; Actinomycete; Saccharothrix
• ISSN: 0959-3993; 1573-0972
• DOI: 10.1007/s11274-011-0892-2

An actinomycete strain designated PAL54, producing an antibacterial substance, was isolated from a Saharan soil in Ghardaïa, Algeria. Morphological and chemical studies indicated that this strain belonged to the genus
Saccharothrix
. Analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence showed a similarity level ranging between 96.9 and 99.2% within
Saccharothrix
species, with
S
.
longispora
DSM 43749
T
, the most closely related. DNA–DNA hybridization confirmed that strain PAL54 belonged to
Saccharothrix longispora
. It showed very strong activity against pathogenic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria responsible for nosocomial infections and resistant to multiple antibiotics. Strain PAL54 secreted the antibiotic optimally during mid-stationary and decline phases of growth. One antibacterial compound was isolated from the culture broth and purified by HPLC. The active compound was elucidated by uv-visible and NMR spectroscopy and by mass spectrometry. The results showed that this compound was a
d
(−)-threo chloramphenicol. This is the first report of chloramphenicol production by a
Saccharothrix
species.