Microbial ecosystems as targets for improving pig gut health

To date, our understanding of the organisms which constitute the microbiomes of humans and our domesticated species has been limited by the technologies available to study them. Progress from culture to species-based DNA approaches has allowed us to appreciate the scale of animal microbiomes and the changes which can occur over time and space. However, in order to design and validate rational approaches to manipulating microbiomes to optimise health, welfare and productivity, we need to begin to understand them as ecosystems, in which the host and a complex mixture of micro-organisms are continuously engaged both in co-operation to produce resources from food and in competition for those resources. The application of ecological principles can guide this understanding, but we need to validate the concepts we use, since they may not all be as applicable as they might seem.

Sinks for Plant Surplus Carbon Explain Several Ecological Phenomena

Plants engage in many processes and relationships that appear to be wasteful of the high-energy compounds that they produce through carbon fixation and photosynthesis. For example, living trees keep leafless tree stumps alive (i.e. respiring) and support shaded understory trees by sharing carbohydrates through root grafts or mycorrhizal fungal networks. Plants exude a variety of organic compounds from their roots and leaves, which support abundant rhizosphere and phyllosphere microbiomes. Some plants release substantial amounts of sugar via extra-floral nectaries, which enrich throughfall and alter lichen communities beneath the canopy. Large amounts of photosynthetically fixed carbon are transferred to root associates such as mycorrhizal fungi and N-fixing micro-organisms. In roots, some fixed C is respired through an alternative non-phosphorylating pathway that oxidizes excess sugar. Each of these processes is most prevalent when plants are growing under mild-to-moderate deficiencies or nutrients or water, or under high light or elevated atmospheric CO2. Under these conditions, plants produce more fixed carbon than they can use for primary metabolism and growth, and so have ‘surplus carbon’. To prevent cellular damage, these compounds must be transformed into other compounds or removed from the leaf. Each of the above phenomena represents a potential sink for these surplus carbohydrates. The fundamental ‘purpose’ of these phenomena may therefore be to alleviate the plant of surplus fixed C.

Extremely Acidic Eukaryotic (Micro) Organisms: Life in Acid Mine Drainage Polluted Environments—Mini-Review

Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) results from sulfide oxidation, which incorporates hydrogen ions, sulfate, and metals/metalloids into the aquatic environment, allowing fixation, bioaccumulation and biomagnification of pollutants in the aquatic food chain. Acidic leachates from waste rock dams from pyritic and (to a lesser extent) coal mining are the main foci of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) production. When AMD is incorporated into rivers, notable changes in water hydro-geochemistry and biota are observed. There is a high interest in the biodiversity of this type of extreme environments for several reasons. Studies indicate that extreme acid environments may reflect early Earth conditions, and are thus, suitable for astrobiological experiments as acidophilic microorganisms survive on the sulfates and iron oxides in AMD-contaminated waters/sediments, an analogous environment to Mars; other reasons are related to the biotechnological potential of extremophiles. In addition, AMD is responsible for decreasing the diversity and abundance of different taxa, as well as for selecting the most well-adapted species to these toxic conditions. Acidophilic and acidotolerant eukaryotic microorganisms are mostly composed by algae (diatoms and unicellular and filamentous algae), protozoa, fungi and fungi-like protists, and unsegmented pseudocoelomata animals such as Rotifera and micro-macroinvertebrates. In this work, a literature review summarizing the most recent studies on eukaryotic organisms and micro-organisms in Acid Mine Drainage-affected environments is elaborated.

Raw Milk in Noakhlai, Bangladesh: Quality Assessment and Antibiotic Resistance of Identified Microorganisms

Milk is an ideal food for all age groups. The current study was carried out to identify the microorganisms to assess the raw milk quality and the antibiotic resistance of those identified micro-organisms. Five raw milk samples along with two high treatment (UHT) milk samples from different locations of Noakhali district of Bangladesh were analysed. Bacterial isolation was performed by Nutrient Agar (NA) and MacConkey (MCA), Eiosin Methylene Blue (EMB) and Genital menital salt agar (GMSA). The isolates were then identified by Kliger’s Iron Agar (KIA) test, Motility Indole Urease (MIU) test, Catalase and Oxidase tests. Antibiotics resistance tests were done for 13 different antibiotics. Among all these samples, Maijdee Bazar (S4) contained the highest load as 1.87×106 and the UHT samples contained no bacterial contamination. E. coli covered 47.05% whereas Listeria, Bacillus and Yersinia were in the same percentage as 5.88% among all isolates. Salmonella and Staphylococcus were 23.53% and 11.76%, respectively. Listeria and Salmonella were resistant to five different antibiotics by 46.15% and 38.46% of multiple antibiotic resistance index (MRI), correspondingly. However, E. coli and Yersinia were resistant to three antibiotics namely, Rifampcin (RIF), Cefotaxime (CTX), Amoxycillin (AMX) by about 23% as MRI percentage. Bacillus and Staphylococcus both were resistant to Cefepime (CPM) by 7.69% of MRI. Hence, it can be concluded that Rifampcin and Cefepime were most common antibiotics which were resisted by most of the isolates. Therefore, hygiene aspect of these milk sources needs to be taken into consideration with high priority. Also, the antibiotics which are resisted by different organisms will be detrimental for public health aspects.

A Study on the Prescription Pattern of Antimicrobial Agents Used in the Treatment of Infectious Disease

Antibiotics are anti-infective agents produced from natural sources, whereas antimicrobial agents are generated through chemical synthesis. It was a prospective and observational study and was conducted in the medicine, OBG, and urology departments in Sagar Hospitals. The study was conducted over a period of 18 to 20 months. Among 542 participants, 325 (60%) were males, while 217 (40%) were females. The frequency of patients surviving different hospital departments was 416 (76.6%), and they survived the medicine department. Moreover, the urology department had 80 (14.8%) patient visits, while in the obstetrics and gynaecology departments, only 46 (8.5%) patients visited. It was found that the percentage and order of various micro-organisms isolated as Neisseria meningitides 20 (3.7%) and a lesser number of organisms were found in K. Pneumonia 01 (0.2%), respectively. The cephalosporin class of drugs is commonly prescribed in empirical and prophylactic therapy because they are more effective in infectious diseases Furthermore, 36 patients out of 542 had drug interactions; quinoline derivatives, such as Ciprofloxacin, typically have a higher number of drug interactions. Among 542 patients, 38 had severe drug reactions in that most of the reactions were dermatological reactions caused by cephalosporin drugs. Most of our physicians prescribed based on patient characteristics and behaviors, and the recovery rate was also good. In our study, we observed common outcomes of DIs, such as increased theophylline toxicity and digoxin toxicity, increased laboratory values, and also reduced some drugs' effectiveness. Correlations of drug and disease characteristics were found more in ciprofloxacin drugs.

Analytical Strategies for the Detection and Quantification of Nano-formulated Antibiotics: Updates and Perspectives

The rapid development of drug resistant micro-organisms is a challenge to the mankind. Nano formulated compounds have proved to be effective strategy to combat bacterial drug resistance. Currently nanoparticulate systems such as nanoantibiotics are getting major attention due to their low inherent toxicity, biodegradability, bioincompatibility and tuneable mechanical characteristics. Nano formulated antibiotics are generally obtained by emulsification and gelification techniques. The effective uses of polymers in encapsulation of antibiotics show enhancement of the efficacy of antibiotics. Combined with techniques like diffraction laser spectroscopy (DLS), electron microscopy (EM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), morphological research of nanoformulated antibiotics are conducted. The detailed study of the polymers used in the preparation of antibiotics nanoparticles as well as their impact on interactions is done by bio-analytical techniques. Antibiotics attached to nanoparticles can avoid the action of enzymes produced by drug resistant bacteria. Nano antibiotics show higher efficacy and bioavailability so a lot of new formulations using nano methods can be developed with the help of bioanalytical techniques. The development as well as the estimation of antibiotics prepared as nano-formulations as per the recent advanced techniques is illustrated in this review.

A REVIEW ON NATURAL ANTI BIOFILM AGENTS FOR WOUND BIOFILM

A biofilm may be a consortium of micro-organisms in which the cells of microbes attach to each other on a living or non-living surface inside a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substances. The bacterial or fungal colonies invade the surface of the wounds, thereby delaying the healing cascade. The resistance is partially due to low metabolic rate of these colonies, which directly impacts the action of oral or parenteral antibiotics. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop antibacterial agents to regulate the biofilm growth and development. The last few decades have witnessed wide research studies attempting to investigate the anti-biofilm effects of natural products. This review will summarize the wound infections associated with biofilm, mechanisms of bacterial resistance due to biofilm and recent studies on discovery of natural products with their mechanisms for inhibiting various bacterial biofilms that can be a promising candidate which could provide novel strategies for biofilm-associated infections.