ACTINOMYCETES ISOLATED FROM WETLAND AND HILL PADDY DURING THE WARM AND COOL SEASONS IN SARAWAK, EAST MALAYSIA

Abstract

As part of the Natural Product Discovery programme at Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC), our study targeted isolation and evaluation of actinomycetes diversity from paddy rice fields. Samples from two types of paddy farming system practiced in Sarawak, wet land and hill paddy, were collected and processed leading to the selection of 578 strains distributed among 24 genera and 10 families. Analysis using phylogenetic clustering indicated a total of 159 taxonomic units (TU). The taxonomic position and the ranking of the TU allowed their classification in 4 novel species, 61 putative novel species and 94 known species or species of uncertain position. The high genus diversity and percentage of novel or putative novel species demonstrate the biodiversity potential of Sarawak ecosystems, even in man-managed ecosystems.