BRIS soil actinomycetes and their antimicrobial activity

Ali Arkan Majhool; Hamidah Binti Idris; Muhd Danish Daniel Abdullah; Noraziah Mohamad Zin; Sarah Ammar Gany

doi:10.1071/MA25041

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

BRIS soil actinomycetes and their antimicrobial activity

Ali Arkan Majhool ^A ^B ^* , Hamidah Binti Idris ^C ^* , Muhd Danish Daniel Abdullah ^D , Noraziah Mohamad Zin ^E and Sarah Ammar Gany ^B

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Faculty of Dentistry, University of Kerbala, Karbala 56001, Iraq.

^B Department of Anesthesia Techniques, College of Health and Medical Technologies, AlSafwa University College, Karbala 56001, Iraq.

^C Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Sultan Idris Education University, 35900 UPSI, Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

^D Institute of Marine Biotechnology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia.

^E Faculty of Health Sciences, National University of Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Dr Ali Arkan Majhool is a lecturer at the University of Kerbala and AlSafwa University College, Iraq, specialising in medical microbiology. He earned his PhD from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Malaysia, in 2021. His research focuses on actinomycetes, antimicrobial compounds and nanomaterials, with publications spanning microbiology, pharmaceutical sciences and biomedical applications.

Dr Hamidah Binti Idris is a lecturer at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Malaysia. Her research in environmental microbiology explores actinomycetes diversity using both culture dependent and independent techniques and their antimicrobial potential alongside microbiology education innovations. She has led multiple research projects on antimicrobial compound discovery as well as teaching and learning, and has been published widely in peer-reviewed journals.

Associate Professor Dr Muhd Danish Daniel Abdullah is programme chair of Bioinformatics at the Institute of Climate Adaptation and Marine Biotechnology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. His research focuses on microbial genomics, metagenomics and bioinformatics applications in aquatic ecosystems, using ‘omics’ tools to explore microbial diversity and functions. He leads multiple high impact funded research in marine microbial ecogenomics.

Professor Dr Noraziah Mohamad Zin is a Professor of Bacteriology and Diagnostics at Center for Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Investigative Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, National University of Malaysia, specialising in biotechnology and medical microbiology. Her research work includes molecular diagnostics, antimicrobial resistance and novel antibiotic discovery and leadership of bioactive natural-product research initiatives.

Sarah Ammar Gany is lecturer at the AlSafwa University College, Kerbala, Iraq. She earned her Masters from American University of Science and Technology, Lebanon, in 2023, and her research focuses on molecular biology and compound isolation.

^* Correspondence to: ali.arkan@uokerbala.edu.iq, hamidah.idris@fsmt.upsi.edu.my

Microbiology Australia https://doi.org/10.1071/MA25041

Submitted: 22 March 2025 Accepted: 18 August 2025 Published: 3 September 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the ASM. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY)

Abstract

Microorganisms, particularly rare actinomycetes, are recognised as promising candidates for new drugs due to their diverse biosynthetic gene clusters. This study aimed to evaluate 155 actinomycetes isolated from the previously unexplored beach ridges interspersed with Swales (BRIS) environment in Setiu, Terengganu, Malaysia, for their antibacterial properties. Using the standard plug assay method these isolated were tested against a range of organisms, including Escherichia coli DSM 30083T, Bacillus subtilis DSM 10, Pseudomonas fluorescens DSM 50090, Klebsiella pneumoniae DSM 30104T, Micrococcus luteus DSM 20030T and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Isolates AA12, AA13 and AA78, which exhibited the largest inhibition zones during primary screening, were selected for further analysis, including metabolite extraction, antimicrobial assays and identification through 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Results showed that 65% of all isolates demonstrated activity against at least one of the test organisms. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that isolates AA12, AA13 and AA78 are classified within the genera Amycolatopsis, Streptomyces and Microtetraspora, respectively. Additionally, the crude extracts from these isolates also produced inhibition zones in secondary screening against the same pathogens. These findings indicate that actinomycetes isolated from BRIS soil possess the potential to produce biologically active secondary metabolites and may serve as candidates for novel antimicrobial drug development.

Keywords: actinomycetes, antimicrobial activity, BRIS soil, metabolite extraction, phylogenetic analysis.

Biographies

Dr Ali Arkan Majhool is a lecturer at the University of Kerbala and AlSafwa University College, Iraq, specialising in medical microbiology. He earned his PhD from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Malaysia, in 2021. His research focuses on actinomycetes, antimicrobial compounds and nanomaterials, with publications spanning microbiology, pharmaceutical sciences and biomedical applications.

Dr Hamidah Binti Idris is a lecturer at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Malaysia. Her research in environmental microbiology explores actinomycetes diversity using both culture dependent and independent techniques and their antimicrobial potential alongside microbiology education innovations. She has led multiple research projects on antimicrobial compound discovery as well as teaching and learning, and has been published widely in peer-reviewed journals.

Associate Professor Dr Muhd Danish Daniel Abdullah is programme chair of Bioinformatics at the Institute of Climate Adaptation and Marine Biotechnology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. His research focuses on microbial genomics, metagenomics and bioinformatics applications in aquatic ecosystems, using ‘omics’ tools to explore microbial diversity and functions. He leads multiple high impact funded research in marine microbial ecogenomics.

Professor Dr Noraziah Mohamad Zin is a Professor of Bacteriology and Diagnostics at Center for Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Investigative Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, National University of Malaysia, specialising in biotechnology and medical microbiology. Her research work includes molecular diagnostics, antimicrobial resistance and novel antibiotic discovery and leadership of bioactive natural-product research initiatives.

Sarah Ammar Gany is lecturer at the AlSafwa University College, Kerbala, Iraq. She earned her Masters from American University of Science and Technology, Lebanon, in 2023, and her research focuses on molecular biology and compound isolation.

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