III. International Agricultural, Biological & Life Science Conference, Edirne, Türkiye, 01 Eylül 2021, ss.186
Actinomycetes, belonging to class Actinobacteria and order Actinomycetales, are Grampositive, aerobic, filamentous bacteria. Because of their morphology, they were previously
thought to be fungus, and therefore the word "mykes", which means fungi in Latin, was used
in naming. Actinomycetes can be isolated from various environments such as soil, sea, air,
insect or marine macro-organisms, plants, and extreme environments. Actinomycetes produce
important secondary metabolites. These bacteria are known for their synthesis of bioactive
compounds like antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, anticancer, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory,
herbicide, and insecticide. It was proven by studies that some of these bioactive compounds
have important potentials in agriculture. Nowadays, high amounts of herbicides or insecticides
are used to protect plants from pests, and these chemicals can cause different dangers in the
long term. The chemicals used are not only biologically harmful but also dangerous in that the
target organisms gain resistance to these chemicals over time. Therefore, there is a need for
both new and natural herbicide and insecticidal compounds. Actinomycetes are known to
synthesize bioactive compounds that have the potential to satisfy these needs. At the same time,
secondary metabolites of actinomycetes can be effective against pathogens such as viruses and
fungi that can cause product loss. These bacteria may also be responsible to produce important
plant growth promoters such as indole acetic acid (IAA), siderophore production, phosphate
dissolution, ammonia production, hydrogen cyanide production. Today, studies about using
actinomycetes to both prevent pathogenic organisms from harming plants and to support plant
growth, are increasing day by day. For this reason, we aimed to compile studies that reveal the
potential of actinomycetes in the field of sustainable agriculture in plant development and
protection.