Antimicrobial activities of microorganisms obtained from the gut of Macrotermes michaelseni in Maseno, Kenya

Abstract

The gut of termites is a major source of termicin and spinigerin antibiotics. The termite gut thus presents a novel habitat for searching new antibiotic producing isolates. The objective of this study was to investigate the microbial activities of microorganisms obtained from the gut of Macrotermes michaelseni. The Macrotermes michaelseni were collected from actively growing mound in Maseno University compound. Seventeen isolates were examined for their abilities to produce substances with antibiotic activities when grown in pure culture. All isolates formed measurable antibiotic activities against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureas and Citrobacter freundii. The isolates did not form inhibition zones against Candida albicans, Shigella species and Salmonella paratyphi. The inhibition zones formed against Escherichia coli and Citrobacter freundii were significant in dilution while Staphylococcus aureas showed no significance in dilution. Two Factor Completely Randomized Design was applied. The analysis was done using MSTATC statistical package. Means from the measurements were separated using Turkey LSD and significance level tested at p≤0.05. These results confirmed that the gut of Macrotermes michaelseni could be used as a source of natural products providing a new weapon against the problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics