Abstract

A set of 97 actinomycete strains which were isolated from 24 marine samples such as sea water, sea sediments, sponges, and corals obtained from Tiruchendur and Kulasekarapattinam, Tamilnadu state, India. The actinomycetes isolated from these eco systems are capable of producing antibiotics that strongly inhibit the growth of gram positive and gram negative bacteria and yeast like fungi. A total of 27 isolates representing the range of morphological diversity observed from each sample, were obtained in pure culture. However of the 27, four were found to produce antibiotic substances. KSP-SS-06-1C/1 exhibited higher activity and was, therefore selected for further studies. The purification and characterization of the substances is now in progress.