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Abstract:
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Actinomycetes are gram-positive, free-living, saprophytic bacteria widely distributed in soil, water and colonizing plants
showing marked chemical and morphological diversity. They are potential source of many bioactive compounds, which have
diverse clinical effects and important applications in human medicine. In the present work, we have studied some of the
physiological and biochemical characteristics of 36 actinomycete strains isolated from the shola soils of tropical montane
forest; a relatively unexplored biodiversity hotspot. Ability of actinomycetes isolates to ferment and produce acids from various
carbohydrate sources such as innositol, mannose, sorbitol, galactose, mannitol, xylose, rhamnose, arabinose, lactose and
fructose were studied. Almost all the carbon compounds were utilized by one or other actinomycete isolates. The most
preferred carbon sources were found to be xylose (94.44%) followed by fructose and mannose (91.66%). Only 41.76% of the
isolates were able to ferment lactose. The ability of actinomycetes isolates to decompose protein and amino acid differ
considerably. 72.22% of the isolates were able to decompose milk protein casein and 61.11% of the isolates decompose
tyrosine. Only 8.33% of the strains were able to decompose amino acid hypoxanthine and none of them were able to
decompose amino acid xanthine. Potential of the actinomycetes isolates to reduce esculin, urea and hippurate and to resist
lysozyme was also checked. 91.66% of the isolates showed ability to decompose esculin and 63.88% of the isolates had the
capacity to produce urease and to decompose urea. Only 25% of the isolate were able to decompose hippurate and 94.44%
showed lysozyme resistance |