N Pradeep - Senior scientist, Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute for Plant Sciences, Near Gooruvayurappan Colle, Pokkunnu, Kozhikode, Kerala ۶۷۳۰۱۴
Lekshmi Edison - Microbiology Division, KSCSTE-Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Palode, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala- ۶۹۵ ۵۶۲, India

Actinomycetes are inexhaustible producers of commercially valuable metabolites, are continually screened for beneficial compounds. The taxonomic and phylogenetic study of novel actinomycetes strains are mostly based on conventional methods and primary DNA structure of 16s rRNA. Although 16s rRNA sequence is well accepted in phylogeny studies, its secondary structures have not been widely used. RNA Secondary structure especially contains molecular morphometric information which is not found in primary sequences. In this scenario, a comparative study based on both conventional and molecular morphometric approach was conducted for identifying the phylogeny of Western Ghats actinomycete isolate TBG-CH22. The strain was found to a potent producer of beta-glucanase enzymes on the basis of preliminary screening. The taxonomic identification was done with conventional methods, sequence analysis, and molecular morphometric properties of 16s rRNA secondary structure. On account of conventional and primary sequence analysis, the isolate TBG-CH22 was identified as Streptomyces species and delineated evolutionary relationship of the strain within taxa. Predicted evolutionarily conserved secondary structure of 16s rRNAs with minimum free energy levels confirmed the closest phylogenetic neighbour of strain.

betaglucanase, 16s rRNA gene, secondary structure