Suppression of predominant interfering bacteria in the purification process of myxobacteria

Nasim Rouhizohrab; Fatemeh Mohammadipanah

doi:10.18502/ijm.v14i5.10968

Nasim Rouhizohrab Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Lab, Department of Microbial Biotechnology, School of Biology and Center of Excellence in Phylogeny of Living Organisms, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
Fatemeh Mohammadipanah Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Lab, Department of Microbial Biotechnology, School of Biology and Center of Excellence in Phylogeny of Living Organisms, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijm.v14i5.10968

Keywords: Myxobacteria; Strain purification; Heat treatment; Ultrasonication

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Myxobacteria initially recognized by their complex life cycle and social behavior are progres- sively explored for their bioactive secondary metabolites. However, isolation of myxobacteria usually is accompanied by bacterial and fungal contaminations due to the direct cultivation of soilon isolation media, which results in severe challenges in the purification of myxobacteria. Therefore, it is necessary to improve their purification techniquesfrom natural samples to the discovery of new biomolecules.

Materials and Methods: In the present study, six physichochemical methods were assessed for their efficacy in the purifi- cation of myxobacterial strains and specially from contaminants of Microvirga spp.

Results: Among the evaluated treatments, purification of fruiting bodies using a combination of ultrasonication and heat treatment was identified as theeffective protocol with 80% success rate in the purification of myxobacterial strains and re- ducing up to 90% of the contaminating bacteria.

Conclusion: Concerning the problematic contamination of myxobacterial isolates, the introduced approach can retrieve the myxobacterial strains which areoften suppressed by the over growth of contaminations especially root symbiotic bacteria namely Microvirga spp.