Evaluation of the Chitinolytic and Antibiotic Activity of the Streptomyces avidinii INA 01467 and Micromonospora aurantiaca INA 01468

The evaluation of antibiotic and chitinolytic activity in actinomycetes isolated from sod-podzolic soil (Albic Retisol (Loamic)) was carried out Moscow region (56°07′15″ N, 37°30′54″ E). Based on cultural and morphological features and analysis of the 16S rRNA gene, the isolated strains were assigned to Streptomyces avidinii INA 01467 and Micromonospora aurantiaca INA 01468. Evaluation of the antibiotic activity of isolated actinomycete cultures showed that the strains exhibit both antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria and antifungal activity against collection strains of fungi Sac. cerevisiae INA 01042, C. albicans ATCC 14053, F. oxysporum VKPM F-148. The ability to synthesize antifungal compounds increased when growing on a medium with chitin in the strain Streptomyces avidinii INA 01467, including against the phytopathogenic strain Fusarium oxysporum VKPM F-148. Using the Real-Time PCR (Real-Time-PCR) method, the presence of functional genes of shitA, responsible for the synthesis of group A chitinase enzymes, was established in the studied bacterial strains of Streptomyces and Micromonospora. The largest amount of the gene is found when growing on chitin in the strain Streptomyces avidinii INA 01467 and reaches about 15 × 10³ copies per ml. The results showed the presence of chitinase and antibiotic activity in the studied strains, including against phytopathogenic fungi, which allows them to be used in plant protection technologies and soil bioremediation.