| Summary: | Actinobacteria were isolated from soil samples gathered from different localities of Indore region. Among 64 isolates, 28 exhibited pigment production. These isolates were further assessed in secondary screening by submerged fermentation process. The isolate NL was found to be the highest pigment producer. Cultural and Morphological characteristics of our isolate NL corresponded with typical features of Streptomycetes. Maximum pigment production was observed on peptone yeast extract iron medium (PYI). Pigment yield was highest using cotton method when compared against solid state and submerged fermentation processes. The influence of heavy metal salts on pigment production was tested and results revealed that Co, Cu and Pb increased the pigment production whereas Mn was found to have inverse effect. Antibacterial activity of crude melanin obtained from different fermentative processes was checked against test organisms Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus. The crude melanin recovered from cotton method and submerged fermentation exhibited broad spectrum activity against gram positive and gram negative organism. Optimised pigment production using the enhancing heavy metals can be scaled up to industrial level for production of pigments to be employed as preservatives and dyes. Keywords: Actinobacteria, Pigment, Melanin, Streptomyces
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