Isolation and characterization of wastewater sand filter actinomycetes

One hundred twenty-two different actinomycete strains were isolated from sample collected from several depths of the Marrakech wastewater infiltration-percolation system. To evaluate the antimicrobial effect of the different actinomycetes recovered, eleven wastewater-associated micro-organisms known as human potential pathogens were used. Results showed that 44 isolates had an in vitro inhibitory effect toward at least seven of the indicator microorganisms while only five active strains inhibited all these pathogens. All five selected active isolates belonged to the genus Streptomyces. Three were identified as Streptomyces violaceorubidus. These isolates showed the broad activity spectrum against a wastewater-associated pathogenic yeast (Candida albicans), Gram-negative (Salmonella sp. CCMM B17) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus CCMM B3). These findings indicate the potential involvement of antagonistic actinomycetes in the removal of wastewater-associated pathogens.