Diversity and Biotechnological Potential of Marine Actinomycetes from India

Actinomycetes are potential antibiotic producers that have been isolated from various terrestrial ecosystems and are exploited for their bioactive compounds. On the contrary, the marine environments were less explored and the research on marine actinomycetes had gained momentum only for the past three decades. Marine actinomycetes are one of the most significant producers of diverse groups of secondary metabolites and provide a huge scope for pharmaceutical and other industries. These organisms are proved to be important, both biotechnologically and economically considering their global presence. The marine ecosystem in India is less explored for the isolation of actinomycetes and several ecological niches are left unattended. Compared to the global scenario, the contribution from Indian researchers towards the isolation and exploitation of marine actinomycetes from the Indian sub-continent is noteworthy. Exploration of actinomycetes from these ecosystems will certainly yield new species and metabolites. Considering the declining rate of drug discovery from terrestrial actinomycetes, the marine counterparts, especially from unexplored regions from the Indian coast will hold a promising way ahead. Apart from drugs, these organisms are reported for the production of different industrially important enzymes like cellulase, amylase, protease, lipase, etc. They are also used in environmental applications, agriculture, and aquacultures sectors. With the rapid advancement in the study of actinomycetes from different marine sources in India, new metabolites are being discovered which have an important role from the economic and industrial point of view. As the world is witnessing newer diseases such as Sars-Cov 2 and the pandemic due to its demands drugs and other metabolites are increasing day by day. Therefore, the necessity for the quest for unique and rare marine actinomycetes is enhancing too. This review highlights the research on marine actinomycetes in India and also the challenges associated with its research.