The new strain VRC21 Credit: Vaddavalli, R. et al
Researchers have identified a novel strain of bacteria in the Streptosprangium genus with the prospect of producing novel antimicrobial agents1.
The researchers isolated the VRC21 strain from the rhizosphere of Callistemon citrinus collected from Hyderabad, India. They have proposed the name Streptosporangium terrae sp. nov. for the new strain.
Under a multidisciplinary investigation, the researchers were trying to discover novel antimicrobial agents against Streptococcus pneumonia.
They isolated some active compounds from the C. citrinus leaves solvent extracts. Looking at the other major source for novel antimicrobial agents, they collected soil microbes from C. citrinus plant rhizosphere. They chose this ornamental plant for its potential medicinal properties.
"A few antimicrobial agents were also isolated and they are still under structural elucidation," says one of the researchers Venkateswar Rao Linga.
