Anti-lymphocytic enzyme L-asparaginase from Streptomyces antibioticus of Western Ghat Soil.

L-asparaginase is a hydrolytic enzyme which deaminates L-asparagine to yield L-aspartic acid which is used as a potent therapeutic agent against Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). Streptomycetes are widely recognized prolific genera of actinomycetes known to be potential producers of antibiotics, antitumor compounds and enzymes. This study is a quest for identifying anti-leukemic drug from Streptomyces source. Western Ghats are chain of hills which run along the western edge of peninsular India. It is one of the 34 biodiversity hotspots in world and is a mystical land for microbiologists. The current study has been undertaken to isolate and characterize a potent L-asparaginase producing Streptomyces species from Western Ghat soils of Agumbe, Karnataka, India and to determine its anti-lymphocytic activity. The Streptomyces species was isolated from forest soil samples, employing Glucose Asparagine Agar by serial dilution plating technique. Potent L-asparaginase active isolate was subjected to morphological, biochemical and molecular characterization and identified as Streptomyces antibioticus MSO-V1. The extracted enzyme exhibited cytotoxic activity against Jurkat cell lines with the IC50 value 137.60 µg/ml and also exhibited significant DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity. This can be exploited for the treatment of Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Further studies on molecular characterization and gene sequence analysis of L-asparaginase enzyme are under progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]