Actinobacteriological research in India

Actinobacteria are important sources of compounds for drug discovery and have attracted considerable pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural and industrial interests. Actinobacteriological research is still in its infancy in India. Early work on actinobacteria started in the 20th century and mostly focused on studying the diversity, identification and screening for antibiotics, enzymes and enzyme inhibitors. Exploration of diverse habitats for the isolation of actinobacteria, have yielded till date 23 novel species. Screening of actinobacteria for antagonistic activity, has led to the discovery of four novel antibiotics. Research on enzymes mostly covered lipases, amylases, proteases, endoglucanases, a-galactosidases, pectin lyases, xylanases, L-asparaginases, L-glutaminase and cellulases. Research on exploiting actinobacteria for other purposes such as production of enzyme inhibitors, single cell protein, bioemulsifier and biosurfactants is still in the experimental stage. This review compiles the work done in last few years, with an emphasis on actinobacterial diversity and bioprospecting for pharmaceutically important compounds like antibiotics, enzymes and other important applications. The chemical creativity and biotechnological potential of Indian actinobacterial strains are yet to be fully explored. A national strategy is required consistent with the opportunities provided by CBD-Nagoya protocol.