Isolation and culturing of microorganisms from soil samples, accompanied by morphological characterization.

Abstract

Soil microbial communities exhibit immense diversity, leading to complex interactions among microbial species and functional groups that can influence ecosystem processes. Microorganisms are ubiquitous and thrive in highly competitive habitats. Many bacteria synthesize antibiotics as important secondary metabolites, which have significant commercial applications. The isolated bacterial strains were subjected to Gram and endospore staining, revealing that none of the isolates were endospore-forming. To evaluate their enzymatic capabilities, extracellular enzyme production was tested using starch and gelatin hydrolysis assays. Furthermore, various biochemical tests were performed to assess intracellular enzyme activities, including catalase, urease, Voges-Proskauer, hydrogen sulfide production, nitrate reduction, methyl red, phosphate solubilization, nitrogen fixation, citrate utilization, oxidase, motility, and triple sugar iron (TSI) tests. Most of the bacterial isolates showed positive results in these assays. A total of eight soil bacterial genera Serratia, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Micrococcus, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Proteus, and Alcaligenes were successfully isolated and identified.