I am getting actinomycetes contamination in my other bacterial cultures. This contaminant only grows in presence of bacteria.To eliminate their presence I need antibiotic which can selectively act on actinomycetes but not on bacteria.
Actinomycetes are Gram positive bacteria. If the bacteria you are using are Gram negative, then you can probably selectively kill the actinomycetes by using an antibiotic that is active against Gram positives but not Gram negatives, such as vancomycin.
Another way to purify your culture would be to dilute it way out, then plate it on nutrient agar and select a single colony of your bacteria from which to regrow the culture. You may want to repeat this process a few times to be sure.
The use of antibiotic may not work simply because Actinomycetes are known to produce antibiotic and could be the one you chosen to inhibit their growth but they survive, it may also inhibit the growth of your bacteria. Some antibiotics has broad spectrum that may affect the growth of target bacteria as well, so I think the serial dilution method is the first option in this case.
Hope this helps, Good luck.
I do agree with Albaser Sir and Shapiro Sir...It would be a better option for you to go for serial dilution and collect a pure form and then try to preserve the sub-culture as aseptically as possible. Because actinomycetes are well known for their antibiotic producing ability which may prohibit the growth of your bacterial isolates.
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