• Journal of Microbiology
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• 제44권4호
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• pp.432-438
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• 2006

Twelve actinomycete strains were isolated from Egyptian soil. The isolated actinomycete strains were then screened with regard to their potential to generate antibiotics. The most potent of the producer strains was selected and identified. The cultural and physiological characteristics of the strain identified. the strain as a member of the genus Streptomyces. The nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene (1.5kb) of the most potent strain evidenced a 99% similarity with Streptomyces spp. and S. aureofaciens 16S rRNA genes, and the isolated strain was ultimately identified as Streptomyces sp. MAR01. The extraction of the fermentation broth of this strain resulted in the isolation of one major compound, which was active in vitro against gram-positive, gram-negative representatives and Candida albicans. The chemical structure of this bioactive compound was elucidated based on the spectroscopic data obtained from the application of MS, IR, UV, $^1H$ NMR, $^{13}C$ NMR, and elemental analysis techniques. Via comparison to the reference data in the relevant literature and in the database search, this antibiotic, which had a molecular formula of $C_{19}H_{29}NO_2$ and a molecular weight of 303.44, was determined to differ from those produced by this genus as well as the available known antibiotics. Therefore, this antibiotic was designated Meroparamycin.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제19권5호
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• pp.468-473
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• 2009

The antibiotic meroparamycin was produced in the free culture system of Streptomyces sp. strain MAR01. Five solid substrates (rice, wheat bran, Quaker, bread, and ground corn) were screened for their ability to support meroparamycin production in solid-state fermentation. In batch culture, wheat bran recorded the highest antibacterial activity with the lowest residual substrate values. The highest residual substrate values were recorded for both ground corn and Quaker. On the other hand, no antibacterial activity was detected for rice as a solid substrate. The use of the original strength of starch-nitrate medium in the solid-state fermentation gave a lower antibacterial activity compared with the free culture system. Doubling the strength of this medium resulted in the increase in the activity to be equivalent to the free culture. The initial pH (7.0) of the culture medium and 2 ml of spore suspension (1 ml contains $5{\times}10^{9}spores/ml$) were the optima for antibiotic production. The water was the best eluent for the extraction of the antibiotic from the solid-state culture. Ten min was enough time to extract the antibiotic using a mixer, whereas, 60 min was required when shaking was applied. Semicontinuous production of meroparamycin using a percolation method demonstrated a more or less constant antibacterial activity over 4 runs ($450-480{\mu}g/ml$). The semicontinuous production of the antibiotic was monitored in a fixed-bed bioreactor and the maximum activity was attained after the fourth run ($510{\mu}g/ml$) and the overall process continued for 85 days.