Isolation of a Rhodococcus Soil Bacterium that Produces a Strong Antibacterial Compound.

<p>Rhodococci are notable for their ability to degrade a variety of natural and xenobiotic compounds. Recently, interest in <em>Rhodococcus</em> has increased due to the discovery of a large number of genes for secondary metabolism. Only a few secondary metabolites have been characterized from the rhodococci (including 3 recently described antibiotics). Twenty-four new <em>Rhodococcus</em> strains were isolated from soils in East Tennessee using acetonitrile enrichment culturing and identified using 16S rRNA analysis. Forty-seven <em>Rhodococcus</em> strains were screened for antibiotic production using a growth inhibition assay. One strain, MTM3W5.2, had 90% similarity to the <em>Rhodococcus opacus</em> 16S rRNA gene sequence and produced a large zone of inhibition against <em>R. erythropolis</em> and a large number of closely related species. The antimicrobial compound produced by MTM3W5.2 had a large MW of 911.5452 Da and acts much like a bacteriocin but no amino acids were detected in this molecule based on TLC analysis.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

MS (Master of Science)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis - unrestricted

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biology

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Borisova, Ralitsa Bogomilova

• natural product
• enrichment culture
• bioactive compound
• antibiotic
• Rhodococcus
• Bacteriology
• Life Sciences
• Microbiology

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright by the authors.

Repository record dc:identifier

https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1388

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dc.etsu.edu:etd-2579