Assessment of resistomycin, as an anticancer compound isolated and characterized from Streptomyces aurantiacus AAA5

A new actinomycete strain, isolated from humus soils in the Western Ghats, was found to be an efficient pigment producer. The strain, designated AAA5, was identified as a putative Streptomyces aurantiacus strain based on cultural properties, morphology, carbon source utilization, and analysis of the 16S rRNA gene. The strain produced a reddish-brown pigmented compound during the secondary metabolites phase. A yellow compound was derived from the extracted pigment and was identified as the quinone-related antibiotic resistomycin based on ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance analyses. The AAA5 strain was found to produce large quantities of resistomycin (52.5 mg/L). It showed potent cytotoxic activity against cell lines viz. HepG2 (hepatic carcinoma) and HeLa (cervical carcinoma) in vitro, with growth inhibition (GI(50)) of 0.006 and 0.005 μg/ml, respectively. The strain also exhibited broad antimicrobial activities against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Therefore, AAA5 may have great potential as an industrial resistomycin-producing strain.