Isolation and molecular identification of actinomycete microflora, of some saharian soils of south east Algeria (Biskra, EL-Oued and Ourgla) study of antifungal activity of isolated strains

Abstract : As part of a research program whose aim is to identify new antifungal metabolites from rare actinomycetes, three Saharan soils from south east Algeria were analyzed. Twenty-seven (27) strains of actinomycetes were isolated and tested for their antifungal activity. The soil from the region of Biskra gave the highest number of actinomycetes, i.e. 52% versus 18% and 30% for the soils from El-Oued and Ourgla, respectively. The results of this study showed the GLM medium to be the most favorable for the isolation of actinomycetes from these ecosystems, on its own providing 17 strains out of the total number of actinomycetes isolated. Two strains presented very important antifungal activity against most of the filamentous fungi and test yeasts used. Molecular identification by polymerase chain reaction using universal 16S rDNA primers allowed the two active strains to be classified in the genus Streptomyces.