ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF MICROCOCCUS ANTARCTICUS-HC-2 FROM THE RHIZOSPHERE OF VITEX NEGUNDO LINN.

The soil samples were collected from the rhizosphere of Vitex negundo, Hindu college Guntur. The air- dried soil samples were pretreated with calcium carbonate and employed for the isolation of actinobacterial strains. Serial dilution plate technique was used for the isolation of actinobacteria. A total of 5 actinobacterial strains designated as HC-1-HC-5 were isolated from the rhizosphere of medicinal plant Vitex negundo. All the 5 strains were screened for antimicrobial activity. Among the 5 strains screened, one strain exhibited high antimicrobial spectrum against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi was identified as Micrococcus antarcticus-HC-2 based on morphological and cultural characteristics together with 16s rRNA gene sequence analysis.