The purpose of this work is to find an adequate immunizing procedure for aerobic actinomycetes and a suitable method of testing for antibodies produced. Some of the factors which influence the antigenicity of the organisms, and the demonstration of specific antibodies have been included.

The purpose of this investigation is to alleviate this confusion by first testing means of separating the antigenic components of the aerobic actinomycetes--obtaining, if possible, a monospecific antigen. Antisera produced from these monospecific antigens will then be tested for their possible use in the serological grouping of the aerobic actinomycetes.

There were two purposes of this investigation: the first was to develop a method for studying spore germination, hyphal growth and mycelial development of the aquatic actinomycetes under the microscope so that the life cycle of this organism could be continuously followed. The second purpose was to determine the rate of carbon utilization from various types of nutritional sources, and to correlate this with the colony development and spore formation.

The purpose of this investigation is to determine if there was a metabolic relationship between the actinomycetes and the gram positive, spore-forming becilli in surface waters, and, if such a relationship was evident, to relate the association to the disappearances of typical actinomycete tastes and odors from waters.

The discovery of the production of antibiotic materials by certain members of the Actinomycetales has stimulated the study of these organisms over the last two decades, raising them from a position of little significance to one of noticeable importance. These studies include investigations concerning the physiology and biochemistry of the actinomycetes.

The purpose of this investigation was an attempt to clarify the relatives taxonomic position of and to formulate some of the basic cyclic morphological and physiological processes occurring in an aquatic actinomycete possessing streptomycetal characteristics.

The primary purpose of this study was to continue the search for a suitable liquid phase which could be utilized in a gas chromatographic study of actinomycetic tastes and odors. Of equal importance were the attempts to characterize the compounds found in the odor water.

Plant biomass serves as a carbon and energy source for Streptomyces spp. which secrete degradative enzymes capable of breaking down the complex plant biomass into simple saccharides. Hemicellulose is a major component of plants and is composed of five and six carbon sugars, such as xylose and glucose. Enzymatic degradation of hemicellulose to obtain desired sugars has been a cornerstone of many industries, as well as the subject of worldwide research for additional sources of efficient enzymes for substrate conversion. In this study, environmentally-derived Streptomyces isolates were screened for their ability to hydrolyze oat-spelt and birchwood xylan in agar-based high throughput activity screens. Of the isolates tested, eight displayed high levels of substrate-degrading activity and were chosen for further characterization which included 16S rRNA gene analysis, microscopic analysis from both liquid and agar grown cultures, xylanase-specific activity, lignin peroxidase production and indole acetic acid production.Qualitative assessment of extracellular lactone signalling for all eight isolates was also performed. Putative lactone signalling was observed for Streptomyces isolates JLS1-C4, JLS1-A6, JLS2-D6 and KT1-B1 which exhibited xylanase-specific activities of 0.622 μmol/min/mg, 0.0243 μmol/min/mg, 0.721 μmol/min/mg, and 0.706 μmol/min/mg respectively. Streptomyces isolates JLS1-F12 and JLS1-C12 did not exhibit lactone signalling but did exhibit xylanase-specific activities of 0.125 μmol/min/mg and 0.0688 μmol/min/mg respectively. No xylanase-specific activity was detected for isolates JLS2- C7 and KT1-B8; however lactone signalling was observed for isolate KT1-B8. Streptomyces isolate JLS1-A6 degraded birchwood xylan optimally at pH 4 and 28°C with a maximal xylanase activity of 1.56 x10-3 μmol/min/mg. / UOIT

Lignocellulose is composed of lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose. Lignocellulose waste is a sustainable and renewable resource available for use in biotechnological applications. Efficient enzyme production and enzymes with high catalytic activity are needed for the use of lignocellulose. The study of cellulases and xylanases that degrade cellulose and xylan into constituent monosaccharides is required to advance industrial application of these enzymes. The use of a traditional pure culture approach to discover and characterize cellulases and xylanases from novel actinomycete isolates and the use of metagenomics to uncover previously unidentified cellulase genes was undertaken. Actinomycetes were cultivated from soil samples and the isolate with the best cellulase and xylanase activity was subjected to strain improvement through protoplast fusion. Enhanced enzymatic activity was found in one fusant. Differential release of sugars from xylan was observed through gas chromatographic analysis between the parental and fusant cultures. Genome shuffling was observed in 16S rRNA genes after protoplast fusion. Finally, one putative endo-β-1,4-glucanase was discovered in a metagenomic library created from cellulose-enriched potting soil. / UOIT

The purpose of the problem was to develop a laboratory technique for mass culturing of the aquatic actinomycetes. In order to solve the problem, it was necessary to devise a suitable culture chamber that would nurture the various species in both primary and secondary stages. It was also important to provide an adequate medium for growth of these organisms. Finally, the construction of the culture chambers must provide for a continuous exhaust of the taste and odor compounds so that the production of these components could be correlated with growth stages.