Bioproduction and Characterization of Pigments from Streptomyces sp. Isolated from Marine Biotope

Actinomycetes play a significant role in producing bioactive pigments. The present study was performed to screen for pigmented Streptomyces strains from marine environment followed by its extraction and characterization. Strains AJ6 and AJ7 were found to produce yellow color pigment (12.9 and 13.8 g/L, respectively) when subjected to submerged fermentation in optimized ISP2 medium at 28 & PLUSMN; 2 & DEG;C for 3-7 days. Lambda max for extracellular and intracellular yellow colored pigment was read at 430 and 410 nm, respectively. Biological and chemical characterization of the extracted pigment confirmed the presence of bioactive compounds. Furthermore, the potential strains were identified and designated as Streptomyces maritimus AJ6 and Streptomyces fenghuangensis AJ7 using conventional and molecular techniques. Until now, there are no reports of colored bioactive metabolite extraction, purification and characterization from S. maritimus and S. fenghuangensis from marine ecosystem. The colored pigment showed high bioactivity such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiproteinase and antifouling activity against various clinical pathogenic strains, thereby proving its therapeutic importance which has not been reported previously. These strains can be employed in a variety of pharmaceutical and biotechnological applications as an environmentally safe alternative to synthetic hues.