A comprehensive and comparative study of actinobacteria of the sea water and sediments of Kachhighadi Coast was carried out during pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. During the isolation, physical and chemical parameters were mimicked as those of sea water. Various growth media including International Project on Streptomyces (ISP) media, Actinomycetes Isolation Agar (AIA), Nutrient Agar (NA) and Starch Casein Agar (SCA) media were used for the cultivation ofthe actinomycetes. The samples were subjected to heat exposure and calcium carbonate treatment prior to the isolation of the actinomycetes. Initially, the counts of the Colony Forming Units (CFU) were very high which indicated high microbial load in sea water. The distribution of the actinomorphotypes was adjudged with respect to sample treatment, NaCl concentrations,growth media and dilution strategy. The actinobacterial isolates revealed significant variation in their distribution patterns in response to the applied physical and chemical conditions. The distribution of the actinomycetes in different seasons was substantially diverse. Majority of the morphotypes displayed chalky and amorphous appearance on the growth plates with pigmentation of varying extent. Most of the morphotypes were Gram Positive with filamentous cell morphology under light microscope. The simple filament were transformed into the branched filaments after prolonged incubation. The study represents cultivation and distribution of the marine actinomycetes in response to the cultivation strategies, sample treatment, media selection and seasonal variation. 

Actinobacteria, actinomorphotypes, AIA, ISP, marine actinomycetes distribution