Isolation, characterization and identification of actinomycetes from agriculture soils at Semongok, Sarawak

A total of 62 isolates of actinomycetes were isolated from 7 soil samples collected from Agriculture Research Center Semongok, Sarawak. All 62 isolates exhibited a range of colony colours (dark grey, grey, dark brown, brownish, whitish and yellowish white). All the isolates were later purified and subjected to a few enzymatic screening. Results indicate that, 48, 46 and 41 isolates showed the ability to secrete cellulase, lipase and protease respectively. All 62 isolates were then subjected to antimicrobial test using selected phytopathogens as test strains and it was observed that 3, 25, 35 and 37 of the isolates showed antagonistic reaction with Fusarium palmivora, Bacillus subtilis, Pantoae dipersa and Ralstonia solanacearum respectively. Six of the most promising isolates were selected and identified using their 16S rRNA sequence. All six isolates were identified as Streptomycetes spp. Further study into the utilization of the actinomycetes for agriculture industry will be done to fully utilize these potential microbes for sustainable agriculture.