Gordonia

Abstract: Marine actinobacteria are the most economically as well as biotechnologically valuable prokaryotes. Representative genera of marine actinobacteria include Actinomadura, Aeromicrobium, Dietzia, Gordonia, Marinophilus, Micromonospora, Nonomuraea, Rhodococcus, Saccharomonospora, Saccharopolyspora, Salinispora, Streptomyces, Solwaraspora, Williamsia, Verrucosispora and several others. Among the genera of marine actinobacteria, the genus Streptomyces is represented in nature by the largest number of species and varieties, which differ greatly in their morphology, physiology, and biochemical activities. Marine Streptomyces occur in different biological sources such as fishes, molluscs, sponges, seaweeds and mangroves, besides seawater and sediments. In this review an evaluation is made on the present state of research on marine Streptomyces and its perspectives. The highlights include the production of metabolites such as antibiotics, anticancer compounds, enzymes, enzyme inhibitors and pigments by marine Streptomyces and their application as single cell protein and as probiotics in aquaculture. The marine environment contains a wide range of distinct Streptomyces that are not present in the terrestrial environment. With increasing advancement in science and technology, there would be greater demands in future for new bioactive compounds synthesised by Streptomyces from various marine sources.

Abstract: Several actinomycetes isolated from nature were able to use both natural rubber (NR) and synthetic cis-1,4-polyisoprene rubber (IR) as a sole source of carbon. According to their degradation behavior, they were divided into two groups. Representatives of the first group grew only in direct contact to the rubber substrate and led to considerable disintegration of the material during cultivation. The second group consisted of weaker rubber decomposers that did not grow adhesively, as indicated by the formation of clear zones (translucent halos) around bacterial colonies after cultivation on NR dispersed in mineral agar. Taxonomic analysis of four selected strains based on 16S rRNA similarity examinations revealed two Gordonia sp. strains, VH2 and Kb2, and one Mycobacterium fortuitum strain, NF4, belonging to the first group as well as one Micromonospora aurantiaca strain, W2b, belonging to the second group. Schiff's reagent staining tests performed for each of the strains indicated colonization of the rubber surface, formation of a bacterial biofilm, and occurrence of compounds containing aldehyde groups during cultivation with NR latex gloves. Detailed analysis by means of scanning electron microscopy yielded further evidence for the two different microbial strategies and clarified the colonization efficiency. Thereby, strains VH2, Kb2, and NF4 directly adhered to and merged into the rubber material, while strain W2b produced mycelial corridors, especially on the surface of IR. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy comprising the attenuated total reflectance technique was applied on NR latex gloves overgrown by cells of the Gordonia strains, which were the strongest rubber decomposers. Spectra demonstrated the decrease in number of cis-1,4 double bonds, the formation of carbonyl groups, and the change of the overall chemical environment, indicating that an oxidative attack at the double bond is the first metabolic step of the biodegradation process.