ANTIBIOTIC-PRODUCING FUNGI PRESENT IN THE SOIL ENVIRONMENT OF KEFFI METROPOLIS, NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

An investigation was carried out to determine the presence of antibiotic-producing fungi in the soil environment of Keffi Metropolis. Soil samples were collected from ten different locations of the Keffi Metropolis for the isolation of fungi. Pour plate method involving serial dilution was used for the isolation of fungi. The media used for the isolation were Malt Extract Agar (MEA), Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA), and Plate Count Agar (PCA). Sensitivity test using Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus as test organisms was employed to determine the ability of the fungal isolates to produce antimicrobials. Ten species of fungi were isolated from the soil samples and these included Absidia corymbifera, Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, A. fumigatus, A. niger, Cladosporium herbarum, Curvularia lunata, Penicillium sp., Rhizopus stolonifer and Trichoderma viride. All the fungal isolates were found to inhibit the growth of at least one of the test pathogens. T. viride produced inhibition zone of 18mm against E. coli, A. niger produced 12mm inhibition zone against S. aureus. Absidia. corymbifera inhibited P. aeruginosa (10mm), while Aspergillus. flavus and Penicillium sp produced inhibition zone of 12mm, respectively, against C. Albicans. The results of this investigation demonstrate that strains of antibiotic-producing fungi are present in the soil of Keffi Metropolis, Nasarawa State, Nigeria, and these could be harnessed by the pharmaceutical industries for the production of antibiotics from local souces.