Advances in Animal and Veterinary Sciences

Research Article
Adv. Anim. Vet. Sci. 2 (12): 668 - 682
http://dx.doi.org/10.14737/journal.aavs/2014/2.12.668.682
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Sumitha Gopalakrishnan1, Jai Sunder1, Sasidharan Venu2
1ICAR-Central Island Agriculture Research Institute, Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, India; 2Department of Ocean Studies and Marine Biology, Pondicherry University, Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, India.

*Correspondence | Sumitha Gopalakrishnan, Central Island Agriculture Research Institute, Port Blair, India; Email: sumithagopalakrishnan@gmail.com

Abstract
Andaman and Nicobar Islands is one of the important biodiversity hot spots in the world which is situated in the Eastern Indian Ocean. The combination of mangrove, rocky and coral reef habitats make it an interesting area for studying microbial population. The present study discusses the distribution status of 643 isolates of Actinobacteria isolated from the marine sediments along the coast of Andaman group of Islands at a depth from 0 to 10m. Spatially, the coast of South Andaman harbours most number of isolates (290) than the other zones and among these, the highest (7.5%) was isolated from Marina Park. Bathymetrically, the highest number of isolates (269) was recorded from 0 – 1 m depth zone and the most number was isolated from Burmanallah. Among these, Streptomyces spp. was found to be highly dominant (83.4%) spatially as well as bathymetrically. Other genera identified were Streptoverticillium spp., Streptosporangia spp., Nocardia spp., Micromonospora spp., Actinoplanes spp. and Actinomadura spp. Highest percentage of Streptomyces spp. was recorded from Burmanallah (7.3 %). Marina Park and Science Centre stations recorded highest number of Streptoverticillium spp. (11.1% each) and Nocardia spp. was found more in Carbyn’s Cove. Micromonospora spp., Streptosporangium spp. and Actinoplanes spp. were recorded only from few stations and Actinomadhura spp. was found only from two stations. In general, the number of isolates decreased from the shore to deeper areas. The mangrove and rocky habitats harbours had more number of Actinobacteria than the sandy and reef ecosystems. The present study have confirmed the potential of this region in terms of actinobacterial diversity and can form a baseline for further research in marine pharmacology.

Keywords | Marine Actinobacteria, Andaman, Indian Ocean, Streptomyces, Indian EEZ