Paper Title
Enzymatic Screening and Antibacterial Potential of Actinomycetes from Forest Soil of Bastar, India

Abstract
Forest soils of unexplored regions are important source of potential, industrially important and novel microorganisms. Actinomycetes are prominent decomposers of various organic matters by producing wide variety of degrading enzymes and also produces various antimicrobial secondary metabolites. In the present study, 20 actinomycetes were isolated from forest soil samples of Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, India,. The isolates were screened for their ability to produce amylase, pectinase, and lipases by qualitative test on agar plates using specific substrate and also screened for antibacterial activity. The results revealed that 45% of isolates had shown pectinase activity, 65% had shown lipases activity while 90% had shown amylase activity. Screening for antibacterial activity revealed that 25% of total isolates inhibited gram positive bacteria and 15% inhibited gram negative bacteria. While only 1% exhibited broad spectrum antibacterial activity. The excellent enzymatic and antibacterial activities of these actinomycetes isolates might prove beneficial for industrial and pharmaceutical applications, respectively. Keywords - Forest soil, Actinomycetes, Enzymes, Antibacterial activity.