Streptomyces griseus

Streptomyces griseus
Spore arrangement in Streptomyces griseus. Grey spores arranged in straight chains, as is typical of these strains.[1][2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Bacteria
Phylum: Actinomycetota
Class: Actinomycetia
Order: Streptomycetales
Family: Streptomycetaceae
Genus: Streptomyces
Species:
S. griseus
Binomial name
Streptomyces griseus
(Krainsky 1914)
Waksman and Henrici 1948
Synonyms
  • "Actinomyces acrimycini" Preobrazhenskaya et al. 1957
  • "Actinomyces fimicarius" Duché 1934
  • "Actinomyces globisporus subsp. flavofuscus" Kudrina 1957
  • "Actinomyces griseus" Krainsky 1914
  • "Actinomyces setonii" Millard and Burr 1926
  • Streptomyces acrimycini (Preobrazhenskaya et al. 1957) Pridham et al. 1958 (Approved Lists 1980)
  • Streptomyces argenteolus Tresner et al. 1961 (Approved Lists 1980)
  • Streptomyces baarnensis Pridham et al. 1958 (Approved Lists 1980)
  • Streptomyces caviscabies Goyer et al. 1996
  • Streptomyces erumpens Calot and Cercós 1963 (Approved Lists 1980)
  • Streptomyces fimicarius (Duché 1934) Waksman and Henrici 1948 (Approved Lists 1980)
  • Streptomyces flavofuscus (Kudrina 1957) Preobrazhenskaya 1986
  • Streptomyces globisporus subsp. flavofuscus (Kudrina 1957) Pridham et al. 1958 (Approved Lists 1980)
  • Streptomyces setonii (Millard and Burr 1926) Waksman 1953 (Approved Lists 1980)

Streptomyces griseus is a species of bacteria in the genus Streptomyces commonly found in soil. A few strains have been also reported from deep-sea sediments. It is a Gram-positive bacterium with high GC content. Along with most other streptomycetes, S. griseus strains are well known producers of antibiotics and other such commercially significant secondary metabolites. These strains are known to be producers of 32 different structural types of bioactive compounds. Streptomycin, the first antibiotic ever reported from a bacterium, comes from strains of S. griseus. Recently, the whole genome sequence of one of its strains had been completed.

The taxonomic history of S. griseus and its phylogenetically related strains has been turbulent. S. griseus was first described in 1914 by Krainsky, who called the species Actinomyces griseus.[3] The name was changed in 1948 by Waksman and Henrici to Streptomyces griseus. The interest in these strains stems from their ability to produce streptomycin, a compound which demonstrated significant bactericidal activity against organisms such as Yersinia pestis (the causative agent of plague) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (the causative agent of tuberculosis). Streptomycin was discovered in the laboratory of Selman Waksman, although his PhD student Albert Schatz probably did most of the work on these strains of bacteria and the antibiotic they produce.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference atlas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Liu was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Krainsky, A (1914). "Die Aktinomyceten und ihren Bedeutung in der Natur". Zentralbl Bakteriol Parasitenkd Infektionskr Hyg Abt II (in German). 41: 649–688.
  4. ^ Wainwright, M. (1991). "Streptomycin: discovery and resultant controversy". Journal of the History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences. 13: 97–124.