Molecular Identification of Selected Streptomyces Strains Isolated from Mexican Tropical Soils and their Anti-Candida Activity

Abstract

The increasing incidence of <i>Candida albicans</i> infections and resistance to current antifungal therapies has led to the search for new and more effective antifungal compounds. Actinobacterial species from the <i>Streptomyces</i> genus are recognized as some of the major producers of antimicrobial compounds. Therefore, the aims of this study were: (1) the identification of <i>Streptomyces</i> strains isolated from Mexican tropical acidic soils, (2) the evaluation of their antifungal activity on <i>C. albicans</i>, and (3) the exploration of the presence of polyketide synthase genes in their genome and antifungal secondary metabolites in their extracts. Four actinobacterial strains, isolated from previously unexplored soils with antibacterial antecedents, were selected. These strains were identified as <i>Streptomyces</i><i>angustmyceticus</i> S6A-03, <i>Streptomyces manipurensis</i> S3A-05 and S3A-09, and <i>Streptomyces parvisporogenes</i> S2A-04, according to their molecular analyses. The ethanol extract of the lyophilized supernatant of <i>S. parvisporogenes</i> displayed the most interesting antifungal activity against <i>C. albicans,</i> with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.5 mg/mL. Type I polyketide synthase (PKS-I) and non-ribosomal peptide synthase (NRPS) genes were detected in all strains. In addition, type II PKS genes (PKS-II) were also found in <i>S.</i><i>manipurensis</i> S3A-05 and <i>S. parvisporogenes</i>. LC-UV-HRMS analysis of the active organic extract of <i>S. parvisporogenes</i> indicated the presence of the known antifungal compound carbazomycin G as the major component.