ABSTRACT:
Drug resistance among pathogenic microorganisms has become the biggest threat to the treatment of human infective diseases worldwide, often making the treatment ineffective. Actinomycetes are capable of producing novel bioactive metabolites and new chemical entities. The objective of the present study was to screen actinomycetes showing anti-Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) activity from amarine soil sample collected at Ariyaman beach of Tamil Nadu, India.The marine soil sample waspre-treated, and inoculated onto aspecific medium for isolation of actinomycetes. The isolates were screened for its antibacterial activity against MRSA andVancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE)using cross streak method and well diffusion method. The potential isolate was identified by morphological and biochemical characterization. Among the isolates screened for anti-MRSA activity, VITADK3 showed significant activity against ATCC MRSA strains, 43300 and 700699 with 18mm and 16 mm zone of inhibition respectively. The isolate was confirmed as belonging to actinomycetes based on the results obtained from morphological and physiological characterization. The results of the study suggest that the isolate VITADK3 from Ariyaman beach is a good source for the production of anti-MRSA secondary metabolites.