House of industrially important bioactive metabolites: A review on actinobacteria

Abstract

The actinomycetes are Gram-positive bacteria present in natural habitats, most profoundly in soil, freshwater, sea water and composts. Actinomycetes have high GC (guanine-cytosine) content and characterized by a complex life cycle. The morphology of actinomycetes looks like fungi and the reproduction takes place either by hyphae fragmentation or by spore production in the mycelium. Actinomycetes serves as a large pool for secondary metabolites production with potent biological activities and therapeutic properties like antifungal, antibiotics, enzymatic, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), in xenobiotics and bioremediation. These bioactive metabolites production can be enhanced using high-throughput fermentation and by combinatorial biosynthesis during optimization. Present research should be focused on the potential of less explored actinomycetes from extreme environments that can be utilized as sustainable herald for green biotechnology. In this review, habitat, life cycle and production optimization of actinomycetes in selective media are explained but article is emphasized on biotechnological potential of actinomycetes that are relevant for industries, agriculture and allied sectors.