Saccharothrix sp. PAL54, a new chloramphenicol-producing strain isolated from a Saharan soil

Adel Aouiche (1) , Nasserdine Sabaou (1) , Atika Meklat (1) , Abdelghani Zitouni (1) , Christian Bijani (2) , Florence Mathieu (3) , Ahmed Lebrihi (3, 4)

1 ENS Kouba-Alger - École normale supérieure - Kouba-Alger
2 LCC - Laboratoire de chimie de coordination
3 LGC - Laboratoire de Génie Chimique
4 UMI - جامعة مولاي إسماعيل = Université Moulay Ismaïl

An actinomycete strain designated PAL54, producing an antibacterial substance, was isolated from a Saharan soil in Ghardaïa, Algeria. Morphological and chemical studies indicated that this strain belonged to the genus Saccharothrix. Analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence showed a similarity level ranging between 96.9 and 99.2% within Saccharothrix species, with S. longispora DSM 43749T, the most closely related. DNA-DNA hybridization confirmed that strain PAL54 belonged to Saccharothrix longispora. It showed very strong activity against pathogenic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria responsible for nosocomial infections and resistant to multiple antibiotics. Strain PAL54 secreted the antibiotic optimally during mid-stationary and decline phases of growth. One antibacterial compound was isolated from the culture broth and purified by HPLC. The active compound was elucidated by uv-visible and NMR spectroscopy and by mass spectrometry. The results showed that this compound was a D(-)-threo chloramphenicol. This is the first report of chloramphenicol production by a Saccharothrix species.

Mots clés: Actinomycete; Taxonomy; Saccharothrix; Antibacterial activities; Chloramphenicol

Domaines: Génie chimique; Biochimie, Biologie Moléculaire

Adel Aouiche, Nasserdine Sabaou, Atika Meklat, Abdelghani Zitouni, Christian Bijani, et al.. Saccharothrix sp. PAL54, a new chloramphenicol-producing strain isolated from a Saharan soil. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2012, vol. 28, pp. 943-951. ⟨10.1007/s11274-011-0892-2⟩. ⟨hal-00878422⟩