Streptomyces griseus

A Microbial Biorealm page on the genus Streptomyces griseus

Classification

===Higher order taxa===
Domain: Bacteria
Phylum: Actinobacteria
Order: Actinomycetales
Family: Streptomycetaceae
Genus: Streptomyces
Species: griseus

[1]

Species

NCBI: Taxonomy

Genus species:streptomyces griseus
other names: actinomyces griseus

Description and significance

The first person to isolate steptomyces griseus was Krainsky in 1914 during the outbreak of World War I from Russian soil.(2) In 1915, Dr. Selman A.Waksman, a microbiologist at the Agricultural Department of Rutger’s University, along with an assistant were studying actinomycetes when they isolated from New Jersey soil a strain in which they called actinomyces griseus.(3) Dr. Waksman was studying how certain substances enabled soil microbes to destroy each other and streptomyces, he found was able to survive in the soil even under unfavorable conditions. In 1943, actinomyces griseus was changed to streptomycin griseus. That same year, Albrez Schatz, an assistant of Dr. Waksman, isolated two actinomyces strains which proved to be identical to the strain discovered in 1915, yet somehow these two new strains had antibiotic behavior. Dr. Waksman named this antibiotic “streptomycin.” It was later determined that the S.griseus strain that give rise to the antibiotic was able to produce two variants, one in which had antibiotic activity and had no antibiotic activity. Waksman along with Schatz and Bugie, found streptomycin to be particularly effective against the tuberculosis bacteria, tubercle bacillus. Feldman and Hinshaw, two physicians from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, studied streptomycin’s effect in guinea pigs with tuberculosis and eventually in human tuberculosis. Feldman and Hinshaw found streptomycin to be effective in curing two extreme classes of tuburculosis: tuberculous meningitis and military tuberculosis.(2) In 1952, Dr. Selman Waksman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of streptomycin as the first antibiotic effective against tuberculosis. (3)

Genome structure

Describe the size and content of the genome. How many chromosomes? Circular or linear? Other interesting features? What is known about its sequence? Does it have any plasmids? Are they important to the organism's lifestyle?

Cell structure and metabolism

Describe any interesting features and/or cell structures; how it gains energy; what important molecules it produces.

Ecology

Describe any interactions with other organisms (included eukaryotes), contributions to the environment, effect on environment, etc.

Pathology

How does this organism cause disease? Human, animal, plant hosts? Virulence factors, as well as patient symptoms.

Application to Biotechnology

Does this organism produce any useful compounds or enzymes? What are they and how are they used?

Current Research

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References

[1.Waksman, S. A., Reilly, H. C., and Harris, Dale A. “Streptomyces griseus(Krainsky) Waksman and Henrici.” Journal Bacteriology. 1948. Volume 56, p.259-269] [2]

Edited by Tran Nguyen of Rachel Larsen