Suppression of predominant interfering bacteria in the purification process of myxobacteria

Myxobacteria initially recognized by their complex life cycle and social behavior are progressively explored for their bioactive secondary metabolites. However, isolation of myxobacteria usually is accompanied by bacterial and fungal contaminations due to the direct cultivation of soil on isolation media, which results in severe challenges in the purification of myxobacteria. Therefore, it is necessary to improve their purification techniques from natural samples to the discovery of new biomolecules.

In the present study, six physichochemical methods were assessed for their efficacy in the purification of myxobacterial strains and specially from contaminants of Microvirga spp.

Among the evaluated treatments, purification of fruiting bodies using a combination of ultrasonication and heat treatment was identified as the effective protocol with 80% success rate in the purification of myxobacterial strains and reducing up to 90% of the contaminating bacteria.

Concerning the problematic contamination of myxobacterial isolates, the introduced approach can retrieve the myxobacterial strains which are often suppressed by the over growth of contaminations especially root symbiotic bacteria namely Microvirga spp.