The first person to isolate Steptomyces griseus was Krainsky in 1914 during the outbreak of World War I from

Russian soil.(2)

In 1915, Dr. Selman A.Waksman, a microbiologist at the Agricultural Department of Rutger’s University, along
with an assistant were studying actinomycetes when they isolated from New Jersey soil a strain in which they
called Actinomyces griseus.(3)

Dr. Waksman was studying how certain substances enabled soil microbes to destroy each other and
streptomyces, he found was able to survive in the soil even under unfavorable conditions.

In 1943, Actinomyces griseus was changed to Streptomycin griseus. That same year, Albrez Schatz, an
assistant of Dr. Waksman, isolated two actinomyces strains which proved to be identical to the strain
discovered in 1915, yet somehow these two new strains had antibiotic behavior.

Dr. Waksman named this antibiotic “streptomycin.” It was later determined that the S.griseus strain that give
rise to the antibiotic was able to produce two variants, one in which had antibiotic activity and had no antibiotic
activity.

Waksman along with Schatz and Bugie, found streptomycin to be particularly effective against the tuberculosis
bacteria, tubercle bacillus.

However, in 1944 Selman Waksman, Albert Schatz, and Elizabeth Bugie

announced the discovery of streptomycin from cultures of a soil
organism, Streptomyces griseus, and stated that it was active against M.
tuberculosis.
Feldman and Hinshaw, two physicians from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, studied streptomycin’s effect in
guinea pigs with tuberculosis and eventually in human tuberculosis.
• 1914 – Krainsky first isolated Steptomyces griseus from Russian soil during World War I

• 1915 - Dr. Selman A.Waksman, along with an assistant, isolated a strain from New Jersey soil in which
they called Actinomyces griseus.

• 1943 – Albrez Schatz isolated two actinomyces strains identical to the strain discovered on year 1915,
manifesting antibiotic behavior

• 1944 - Selman Waksman, Albert Schatz, and Elizabeth discovered streptomycin from cultures
of Streptomyces griseus, and stated that it was active against M. tuberculosis.

• 1952 - Dr. Selman Waksman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in lieu of his
discovery of streptomycin

• Feldman and Hinshaw - found streptomycin to be effective in curing tuberculous meningitis and military
tuberculosis.

• It was later discovered that the S.griseus strain that give rise to the antibiotic was able to produce two
variants, one in which had antibiotic activity and had no antibiotic activity.

•
Feldman and Hinshaw found streptomycin to be effective in curing two extreme classes of tuburculosis:
tuberculous meningitis and military tuberculosis.(2) In 1952, Dr. Selman Waksman was awarded the Nobel
Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of streptomycin as the first antibiotic effective against
tuberculosis. (3)

Streptomyces griseus are gram positive, aerobic, filamentous bacteria. Streptomyces griseus is a soil-dwelling
bacteria like most of the other species in its genus. S. griseus’ optimal temperature to live in is at 25-35C. The
genus Streptomyces are also responsible for the “earthy” smell of soil and the fertility of the soil.
(3) Streptomyces griseus produces many useful secondary metabolites such as enzyme inhibitors and
contribute 70% of naturally-occurring antibiotics. Having S. griseus’ geome sequenced will contribute to further
discoveries such as its production of anticancer secondary metabolites.(11) Cultures of streptomyces griseus
can be put into four categories: “1. those that produce streptomycin 2. those that produce grisein 3. those that
form an antibiotic that is neither streptomycin or grisein. 4. those that do not form any antibiotic.”(2)