STUDY & CLASSIFICATION OF RED PIGMENTED ACTINOMYCETES FROM THE BANNERGHATTA NATIONAL PARK SOIL.

The objective to carry out this project was to study the ecological diversity found in the Actinomycetes present in the Western Ghats’ soil. To fulfil the purpose soil from Bannerghatta National Park (Western Ghats), Bangalore was collected and tested. Various type of Actinomycetes culture was obtained which included pigmented (red and yellow) and filamentous cultures. Basic biochemical and physical experiments were performed, though prime focus was on the red pigmented organism. Of the 3 different red cultures obtained, 2 were found to be same and the 3 rd culture though showed some variation in TLC (proteins), could not be confirmed as an entirely different type as it showed same pigmentation, because in the other preliminary tests all the 3 red cultures showed similar results. Bergey’s Manual was considered to classify the organisms accordingly, but due to the lack of data organisms were only grouped on the basis of presence of L-DAP and meso-DAP in their cell wall.