Streptomyces spp. ICC1 and ICC4 are strains of bacteria isolated from the Iron Curtain Cave in Chilliwack, British Columbia. The secondary metabolites of these bacteria have antimicrobial properties that could be utilized in a variety of medicinal purposes. The goal of this project is to isolate and characterize the secondary metabolites of Streptomyces spp. ICC1 and ICC4. These two Streptomyces strains were first cultured and then tested for antimicrobial activity against a non-multidrug resistant target bacterium, Escherichia coli #59 and Staphylococcus aureus, and a strain of yeast, Candida albicans. Once antimicrobial activity was determined, the culture was extracted with diethyl ether to isolate the secondary metabolites. After extracting a greater volume of the secondary metabolites, they will be purified by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The bioactivity of the separated metabolites will be re-confirmed against Escherichia coli #59, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. The metabolites will continue to be analyzed by mass spectrometry (MS) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy to determine a mass and structure of the compounds, respectively. Once the structure has been elucidated, further research into why those particular compounds exhibit antimicrobial properties will follow. This research will further the body of knowledge on Streptomyces spp. ICC1 and ICC4, and its pharmaceutical potential.
