Antimicrobial activity from the extracts of fungal isolates of soil and dung samples from Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India

One hundred and thirty fungal strains were isolated from soil and dung samples collected from the biodiversity hotspot, the Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India. These were then characterized by conventional methods and assessed for their antimicrobial activity against test microorganisms. From the 130 isolates, 42 organisms showed antimicrobial activity; 15 of them were exclusively anti-bacterial and 20 isolates showed both antibacterial and anti-Candida activity and seven isolates showed exclusive anti-Candida activity. The inhibition was higher against Gram-positive bacteria, while Gram-negative bacteria were less inhibited. The potent antibiotic producing strains isolated belong mainly to the genera Aspergillus, followed by Scopulariopsis, Curvularia, Phoma, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, Fusarium, Acremonium and Aureobasidium pullulans. This is the first report on the antimicrobial activity of fungal isolates from the Kaziranga National Park biosphere of India. (C) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.