Search results for: rumen microbial

Authors: Sunil Dehipawala, Gayathrie Amarasuriya, N. Gadura, G. Tremberger Jr, D.Lieberman, Harry Gafney, Todd Holden, T. Cheung

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The iron environment in Fe-doped Vycor Anode was investigated with EXAFS using Brookhaven Synchrotron Light Source. The iron-reducing Shewanella oneidensis culture was grown in a microbial fuel cell under anaerobic respiration. The Fe bond length was found to decrease and correlate with the amount of biofilm growth on the Fe-doped Vycor Anode. The data suggests that Fe-doped Vycor Anode would be a good substrate to study the Shewanella oneidensis nanowire structure using EXAFS.

Keywords: EXAFS, fourier transform, Shewanella oneidensis, microbial fuel cell

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Authors: Noor-ul-Ain, Muhammad Tahir Khan, Kashif Khan, Adeela Ajmal, Hamid Mustafa

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The objective of this study was to evaluate the preservative and upgrading potential of urea (70g/kg DM) added to high moisture oat silage at laboratory scale trial and urea was hydrolysed 95%. Microbial activity measured by pH and volatile fatty acids (VFA) and lactate production was reduced (p<0.001) by the urea addition. The pH of oat silage (without treated) was measured 5.7 and increased up to 8.00 on average while; volatile fatty acids (VFA) concentration was decreased. Relative proportions of fermentation acids changed after urea addition, increasing the acetate and butyrate and decreasing the propionate and lactate proportions. The addition of urea to oat silages increased (P<0.001) water soluble and ammonium nitrogen of the forage. These nitrogen fractions represented more than 40% of total nitrogen. After urea addition, total nitrogen content of oat silages increased from 21.0 g/kg DM to 28 g/kg DM. Application of urea at a rate of 70 g/kg DM significantly increased (P<0.001) the in situ degradation of neutral-detergent fibre after 48h of rumen incubation (NDF-situ). The NDF-situ was 200 g/kg NDF higher on oat forages ensiled with urea than on oat forages ensiled without urea. Oat silages can be effectively preserved and upgraded by ensiling with 70 g urea/kg dry matter. Further studies are required to evaluate voluntary intake of this forage.

Keywords: oat, silage, urea, pH, forage

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Authors: Shreya Borthakur, Adhar Sharma

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The North-east states of India are well known for their age-old practice of preparing alcoholic beer from rice and millet. They do so in a traditional way by sprinkling starter cake (inoculum) on cooked rice or millet after which the fermentation starts and eventually, forms the beer. This starter cake has a rich composition of different microbes and medicinal herbs along with the powdered rice dough or maize dough with rice bran. The starter cake microbial composition has an important role in determining the microbial succession and metabolic secretions as the fermentation proceeds from the early to its late stage, thus, giving the beer a unique aroma, taste, and other sensory properties of traditionally prepared beer. Here, We have worked on identifying and characterizing the microbial community in the starter cakes prepared by the Monpa and Galo tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. A total of 18 microbial strains have been isolated from the starter cake of Monpa tribe, while 10 microbial isolates in that of Galo tribe. A metagenomic approach was applied to enumerate the cultural and non-cultural microbes present in the starter cakes prepared by the Monpa and Galo tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. The findings of the mini-project lays foundation to understand the role of microbes present in the starter cake in the beer’s fermentation process and will aide in future research on re-formulating the starter cakes to prevent the early spoilage of the ready to consume beer as the traditional rice beer has a short shelf-life. The paper concludes with the way forward being controlled CRISPR-Cas9.

Keywords: fermentation, traditional beer, microbial succession, preservation, CRISPR-Cas, food microbiology

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Authors: Mardiati Zain, Ryanto Khasrad, I. Elihasridas, J. Juliantoni

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The research objective was to determine the productivity of cattle fed a complete ration with ammoniated based of oil palm-frond supplemented by Rumen Microbes Growth Factor (RMGF). The research used Randomized Block Design applying 4 rations as treatment and 4 groups cattle. The treatments were: A (60% oil palm frond ammoniated + 40% concentrate + RMGF); B (50% oil palm frond ammoniated + 50% concentrate + RMGF); C (40% oil palm frond ammoniated + 60% concentrate + RMGF); and D (30% oil palm frond ammoniated + 70% concentrate + RMGF). The measured parameters were dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) intake, daily weight gain (DWG), feed efficiency, total digestible nutrient (TDN), and digestibility of crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), cellulose, hemicellulose. Statistical analysis showed that the treatment had no significant effect (P > 0.05) on DM intake, OM intake, daily weight gain, feed efficiency, digestibility of DM, OM, CP, TDN, NDF, hemicellulose but had a highly significant effect (P < 0.01) on digestibility of ADF and cellulose. All treatments with different ratio (oil palm frond ammoniated: concentrate : RMGF) had no different effect on cattle productivities.

Keywords: oil palm frond ammoniated, digestibility, rumen microba growth factor, Bali cattle

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Authors: Jayesh M. Sonawane, Prakash C. Ghosh

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Landfill leachate emerges as a promising feedstock for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In the present investigation, direct air-breathing cathode-based MFCs are fabricated to investigate the potential of landfill leachate. Three MFCs that have different cathode areas are fabricated and investigated for 17 days under open circuit conditions. The maximum open circuit voltage (OCV) is observed to be as high as 1.29 V. The maximum cathode area specific power density achieved in the reactor is 1513 mW m^-2. Further studies are under progress to understand the origin of high OCV obtained from landfill leachate-based MFCs.

Keywords: microbial fuel cells, landfill leachate, air-breathing cathode, performance study

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Authors: Zeina Bourhane, Anders Lanzen, Christine Cagnon, Olfa Ben Said, Cristiana Cravo-Laureau, Robert Duran

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The anthropogenic pressure in coastal areas increases dramatically with the exploitation of environmental resources. Biomonitoring coastal areas are crucial to determine the impact of pollutants on bacterial communities in soils and sediments since they provide important ecosystem services. However, relevant biomonitoring tools allowing fast determination of the ecological status are yet to be defined. Microbial ecology approaches provide useful information for developing such microbial monitoring tools reporting on the effect of environmental stressors. Chemical and microbial molecular approaches were combined in order to determine microbial bioindicators for assessing the ecological status of soil and river ecosystems around the Ichkeul Lake (Tunisia), an area highly impacted by human activities. Samples were collected along soil/river/lake continuums in three stations around the Ichkeul Lake influenced by different human activities at two seasons (summer and winter). Contaminant pressure indexes (PI), including PAHs (Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), alkanes, and OCPs (Organochlorine pesticides) contents, showed significant differences in the contamination level between the stations with seasonal variation. Bacterial communities were characterized by 16S ribosomal RNAs (rRNA) gene metabarcoding. Although microgAMBI indexes, determined from the sequencing data, were in accordance with contaminant contents, they were not sufficient to fully explain the PI. Therefore, further microbial indicators are still to be defined. The comparison of bacterial communities revealed the specific microbial assemblage for soil, river, and lake sediments, which were significantly correlated with contaminant contents and PI. Such observation offers the possibility to define a relevant set of bioindicators for reporting the effects of human activities on the microbial community structure. Such bioindicators might constitute useful monitoring tools for the management of microbial communities in coastal areas.

Keywords: bacterial communities, biomonitoring, contamination, human impacts, microbial bioindicators

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Authors: Flackson Tshuma, James Bennett, Pieter Andreas Swanepoel, Johan Labuschagne, Stephan van der Westhuizen, Francis Rayns

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Amongst other things, tillage and synthetic agrochemicals can be effective methods of seedbed preparation and pest control. Nonetheless, frequent and intensive tillage and excessive application of synthetic agrochemicals, such as herbicides and insecticides, can reduce soil microbial enzyme activity. A decline in soil microbial enzyme activity can negatively affect nutrient cycling and crop productivity. In this study, the effects of four tillage treatments; continuous mouldboard plough; shallow tine-tillage to a depth of about 75 mm; no-tillage; and tillage rotation (involving shallow tine-tillage once every four years in rotation with three years of no-tillage), and two rates of synthetic agrochemicals (standard: with regular application of synthetic agrochemicals; and reduced: fewer synthetic agrochemicals in combination with bio-chemicals/ or bio-stimulants) on soil microbial enzyme activity were investigated between 2018 and 2020 in a typical Mediterranean climate zone in South Africa. Four different bio-stimulants applied contained: Trichoderma asperellum, fulvic acid, silicic acid, and Nereocystis luetkeana extracts, respectively. The study was laid out as a complete randomised block design with four replicated blocks. Each block had 14 plots, and each plot measured 50 m x 6 m. The study aimed to assess the combined impact of tillage practices and reduced rates of synthetic agrochemical application on soil microbial enzyme activity in a dryland cropping system. It was hypothesised that the application of bio-stimulants in combination with minimum soil disturbance will lead to a greater increase in microbial enzyme activity than the effect of applying either in isolation. Six soil cores were randomly and aseptically collected from each plot for microbial enzyme activity analysis from the 0-150 mm layer of a field trial under a dryland crop rotation system in the Swartland region. The activities of four microbial enzymes, β-glucosidase, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase and urease, were assessed. The enzymes are essential for the cycling of glucose, phosphorus, and nitrogen, respectively. Microbial enzyme activity generally increased with a reduction of both tillage intensity and synthetic agrochemical application. The use of the mouldboard plough led to the least (P<0.05) microbial enzyme activity relative to the reduced tillage treatments, whereas the system with bio-stimulants (reduced synthetic agrochemicals) led to the highest (P<0.05) microbial enzyme activity relative to the standard systems. The application of bio-stimulants in combination with reduced tillage, particularly no-tillage, could be beneficial for enzyme activity in a dryland farming system.

Keywords: bio-stimulants, soil microbial enzymes, synthetic agrochemicals, tillage

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Authors: Hana Barak, Alex Sivan, Ariel Kushmaro

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Microorganisms are the most diverse and abundant life forms on Earth and account for a large portion of the Earth’s biomass and biodiversity. To date though, our knowledge regarding microbial life is lacking, as it is based mainly on information from cultivated organisms. Indeed, microbiologists have borrowed from astrophysics and termed the ‘uncultured microbial majority’ as ‘microbial dark matter’. The realization of how diverse and unexplored microorganisms are, actually stems from recent advances in molecular biology, and in particular from novel methods for sequencing microbial small subunit ribosomal RNA genes directly from environmental samples termed next-generation sequencing (NGS). This has led us to use NGS that generates several gigabases of sequencing data in a single experimental run, to identify and classify environmental samples of microorganisms. In metagenomics sequencing analysis (both 16S and shotgun), sequences are compared to reference databases that contain only small part of the existing microorganisms and therefore their taxonomy assignment may reveal groups of unknown microorganisms or origins. These unknowns, or the ‘microbial sequences dark matter’, are usually ignored in spite of their great importance. The goal of this work was to develop an improved bioinformatics method that enables more complete analyses of the microbial communities in numerous environments. Therefore, NGS was used to identify previously unknown microorganisms from three different environments (industrials wastewater, Negev Desert’s rocks and water wells at the Arava valley). 16S rRNA gene metagenome analysis of the microorganisms from those three environments produce about ~4 million reads for 75 samples. Between 0.1-12% of the sequences in each sample were tagged as ‘Unassigned’. Employing relatively simple methodology for resequencing of original gDNA samples through Sanger or MiSeq Illumina with specific primers, this study demonstrates that the mysterious ‘Unassigned’ group apparently contains sequences of candidate phyla. Those unknown sequences can be located on a phylogenetic tree and thus provide a better understanding of the ‘sequences dark matter’ and its role in the research of microbial communities and diversity. Studying this ‘dark matter’ will extend the existing databases and could reveal the hidden potential of the ‘microbial dark matter’.

Keywords: bacteria, bioinformatics, dark matter, Next Generation Sequencing, unknown

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Authors: Anza-Vhudziki Mboyi, Ilunga Kamika, Maggy Momba

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The aim of this study was to ascertain the survival limit and capability of commonly found wastewater protozoan (Aspidisca sp, Trachelophyllum sp, and Peranema sp) and bacterial (Bacillus licheniformis, Brevibacillus laterosporus, and Pseudomonas putida) species to remove COD while exposed to commercial nanomaterials under varying pH conditions. The experimental study was carried out in modified mixed liquor media adjusted to various pH levels (pH 2, 7 and 10), and a comparative study was performed to determine the difference between the cytotoxicity effects of commercial zinc oxide (nZnO) and silver (nAg) nanomaterials (NMs) on the target wastewater microbial communities using standard methods. The selected microbial communities were exposed to lethal concentrations ranging from 0.015 g/L to 40 g/L for nZnO and from 0.015 g/L to 2 g/L for nAg for a period of 5 days of incubation at 30°C (100 r/min). Compared with the absence of NMs in wastewater mixed liquor, the relevant environmental concentration ranging between 10 µg/L and 100 µg/L, for both nZnO and nAg caused no adverse effects, but the presence of 20 g of nZnO/L and 0.65 g of nAg/L significantly inhibited microbial growth. Statistical evidence showed that nAg was significantly more toxic compared to nZnO, but there was an insignificant difference in toxicity between microbial communities and pH variations. A significant decrease in the removal of COD by microbial populations was observed in the presence of NMs with a moderate correlation of r = 0.3 to r = 0.7 at all pH levels. It was evident that there was a physical interaction between commercial NMs and target wastewater microbial communities; although not quantitatively assessed, cell morphology and cell death were observed. Such phenomena suggest the high resilience of the microbial community, but it is the accumulation of NMs that will have adverse effects on the performance in terms of COD removal.

Keywords: bacteria, biological treatment, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and nanomaterials, consortium, pH, protozoan

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Authors: Arief, Noovirman Jamarun, Benni Satria

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Background: The main problem in the development of livestock in Indonesia is feed both in terms of quality and quantity. On the other hand, conventional feed ingredients are expensive and difficult to obtain. Therefore, it is necessary to find alternative feed ingredients that have good quality, potential, and low cost. Feed ingredients that meet the above requirements are by-products of the palm oil industry, namely palm kernel cake (PKC). This study aims to obtain the best PKC composition for Etawa goat concentrate ration. Material and Methode : This research consists of 2 stages. Stage I is invitro study using Tilley and Terry method. The study used a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 4 treatments of rations and 4 replications. The treatment is the composition of the use of palm kernel cake (PKC) in the ration, namely, A). 10%, B). 20%, C). 30%, D). 40%. Other feed ingredients are corn, rice bran, tofu waste and minerals. The measured variables are the characteristics of the rumen fluid (pH, VFA and NH3). Stage II was done using the best ration of stage I (Ration C), followed by testing the use of Tithonia (Thitonia difersifolia) and agricultural waste of sweet potato leaves as a source of forage for livestock by in-vitro. The study used a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 3 treatments and 5 replications. The treatments were: Treatment A) Best Concentrate Ration Stage I + Titonia (Thitonia difersifolia), Treatment B) Best Concentrate Ration Stage I + Tithonia (Thitonia difersifolia) and Sweet potato Leaves, Treatment C) Best Concentrate Ration Stage I + Sweet potato leaves. The data obtained were analyzed using variance analysis while the differences between treatments were tested using the Duncant Multiple Range Test (DMRT) according to Steel and Torrie. Results of Stage II showed that the use of PKC in rations as concentrate feed combined with forage originating from Tithonia (Thitonia difersifolia) and sweet potato leaves produced pH, VFA and NH3-N which were still in normal conditions. The best treatment was obtained from diet B (P <0.05) with 6.9 pH, 116.29 mM VFA and 15mM NH3-N. Conclussion From the results of the study it can be concluded that PKC can be used as feed ingredients for dairy goat concentrate with a combination of forage from Tithonia (Tithonia difersifolia) and sweet potato leaves.

Keywords: palm oil by-product, palm kernel cake, concentrate, rumen fluid, Etawa goat

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Authors: Khaoula Bensaida, Osama Eljamal

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The electrical energy generation through Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) using microorganisms is a renewable and sustainable approach. It creates truly an efficient technology for power production and wastewater treatment. MFC is an electrochemical device which turns wastewater into electricity. The most important part of MFC is microbes. Nano zero-valent Iron NZVI technique was successfully applied in degrading the chemical pollutants and cleaning wastewater. However, the use of NZVI for enhancing the current production is still not confirmed yet. This study aims to confirm the effect of these particles on the current generation by using MFC. A constructed microbial fuel cell, which utilizes domestic wastewater, has been considered for wastewater treatment and bio-electricity generation. The two electrodes were connected to an external resistor (200 ohms). Experiments were conducted in two steps. First, the MFC was constructed without adding NZVI particles (Control) while at a second step, nanoparticles were added with a concentration of 50mg/L. After 20 hours, the measured voltage increased to 5 and 8mV, respectively. To conclude, the use of zero-valent iron in an MFC system can increase electricity generation.

Keywords: bacterial growth, electricity generation, microbial fuel cell MFC, nano zero-valent iron NZVI.

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Authors: Shubhangi R. Deshmukh, Anupam B. Soni

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Clean water and electricity are vital services needed in all communities. Bio-degradation of wastewater contaminants and desalination technologies are the best possible alternatives for the global shortage of fresh water supply. Osmotic microbial fuel cell (OMFC) is a versatile technology that uses microorganism (used for biodegradation of organic waste) and membrane technology (used for water purification) for wastewater treatment and energy generation simultaneously. This technology is the combination of microbial fuel cell (MFC) and forward osmosis (FO) processes. OMFC can give more electricity and clean water than the MFC which has a regular proton exchange membrane. FO gives many improvements such as high contamination removal, lower operating energy, raising high proton flux than other pressure-driven membrane technology. Lower concentration polarization lowers the membrane fouling by giving osmotic water recovery without extra cost. In this review paper, we have discussed the principle, mechanism, limitation, and application of OMFC technology reported to date. Also, we have interpreted the experimental data from various literature on the water recovery and electricity generation assessed by a different component of OMFC. The area of producing electricity using OMFC has further scope for research and seems like a promising route to wastewater treatment.

Keywords: forward osmosis, microbial fuel cell, osmotic microbial fuel cell, wastewater treatment

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Authors: Samira Berenji Ardestani, Hamid Reza Akhavan

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Gamma irradiation greatly reduces the potential microbiological risk of fresh fruits, resulting in improved microbial safety as well as extending their shelf life. The effects of 0.5-2 kGy gamma doses on some physicochemical, microbial and sensory properties of fresh barberry fruits (Berberis vulgaris) during refrigerated storage for 40 days were evaluated. The total anthocyanin and total phenolic contents of barberry fruits decreased in a dose-dependent manner immediately after irradiation and after subsequent storage. In general, it is recommended that, according to the effect of gamma radiation on physicochemical, microbial and sensorial characteristics, doses of 1.25-2 kGy could be used.

Keywords: antioxidant property, barberry fruit, chemical properties, gamma irradiation

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Authors: Karan R. Chavan, Srivats Gopalan, Kumudini V. Marathe

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In the current work, the comparison of degradation of malathion by single species, Pseudomonas Stutzeri, and Activated Sludge/Mixed Microbial Culture is studied in a Membrane Bioreactor. Various parameters were considered to study the effect of single species degradation compared to degradation by activated sludge. The experimental results revealed 85-90% reduction in the COD of the Malathion containing synthetic wastewater. Complete reduction of malathion was observed within 24 hours in both the cases. The critical flux was 10 LMH for both the systems. Fouling propensity, Cake and Membrane resistances were calculated thus giving an insight regarding the working of Membrane Bioreactor-based on single species and activated sludge.

Keywords: fouling, membrane bioreactor, mixed microbial culture, single species

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Authors: Ansong Richard Omari, Yosei Oikawa, Yoshiharu Fujii, Dorothea Sonoko Bellingrath-Kimura

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Renewed interest in soil management aimed at improving the productive capacity of Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) soils has called for the need to analyse the long term effect of different fertilization systems on soil. This study was conducted in two agroecological zones (i.e., Guinea Savannah (GS) and Deciduous forest (DF)) of Ghana to evaluate the impacts of long term (> 5 years) fertilization schemes on soil chemical and microbial properties. Soil samples under four different fertilization schemes (inorganic, inorganic and organic, organic, and no fertilization) were collected from 20 farmers` field in both agroecological zones. Soil analyses were conducted using standard procedures. All average soil quality parameters except extractable C, potential mineralizable nitrogen and CEC were significantly higher in DF sites compared to GS. Inorganic fertilization proved superior in soil chemical and microbial biomass especially in GS zone. In GS, soil deterioration index (DI) revealed that soil quality deteriorated significantly (−26%) under only organic fertilization system whereas soil improvement was observed under inorganic and no fertilization sites. In DF, either inorganic or organic and inorganic fertilization showed significant positive effects on soil quality. The high soil chemical composition and enhanced microbial biomass in DF were associated with the high rate of inorganic fertilization.

Keywords: deterioration index, fertilization scheme, microbial biomass, tropical agroecological zone

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Authors: Isabel Lopez-Oliva, Akshay Paropkari, Shweta Saraswat, Stefan Serban, Paola de Pablo, Karim Raza, Andrew Filer, Iain Chapple, Thomas Dietrich, Melissa Grant, Purnima Kumar

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Objective: We aimed to explicate the role of the subgingival microbiome in the causal link between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and periodontitis (PD). Methods: Subjects with/without RA and with/without PD were randomized for treatment with scaling and root planing (SRP) or oral hygiene instructions. Subgingival biofilm, gingival crevicular fluid, and serum were collected at baseline and at 3- and 6-months post-operatively. Correlations were generated between 72 million 16S rDNA sequences, immuno-inflammatory mediators, circulating antibodies to oral microbial antigens, serum inflammatory molecules, and clinical metrics of RA. The dynamics of inter-microbial and host-microbial interactions were modeled using differential network analysis. Results: RA superseded periodontitis as a determinant of microbial composition, and DAS28 score superseded the severity of periodontitis as a driver of microbial assemblages (p=0.001, ANOSIM). RA subjects evidenced higher serum anti-PPAD (p=0.0013), anti-Pg-enolase (p=0.0031), anti-RPP3, anti- Pg-OMP and anti- Pi-OMP (p=0.001) antibodies than non-RA controls (with and without periodontitis). Following SRP, bacterial networks anchored by IL-1b, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-13, MIP-1b, and PDGF-b underwent ≥5-fold higher rewiring; and serum antibodies to microbial antigens decreased significantly. Conclusions: Our data suggest a circular relationship between RA and PD, beginning with an RA-influenced dysbiosis within the healthy subgingival microbiome that leads to exaggerated local inflammation in periodontitis and circulating antibodies to periodontal pathogens and positive correlation between severity of periodontitis and RA activity. Periodontal therapy restores host-microbial homeostasis, reduces local inflammation, and decreases circulating microbial antigens. Our data highlights the importance of integrating periodontal care into the management of RA patients.

Keywords: rheumatoid arthritis, periodontal, subgingival, DNA sequence analysis, oral microbiome

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Authors: Satya Eswari Jujjavarapu, Swasti Dhagat, Lata Upadhyay, Reecha Sahu

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Silver nanoparticles have a broad range of antimicrobial and antifungal properties ranging from soaps, pastes to sterilization and drug delivery systems. These can be synthesized by physical, chemical and biological methods; biological methods being the most popular owing to their non-toxic nature and reduced energy requirements. Microbial surfactants, produced on the microbial cell surface or excreted extracellularly are an alternative to synthetic surfactants for the production of silver nanoparticles. Hence, they are also called as green molecules. Microbial lipopeptide surfactants (biosurfactant) exhibit anti-tumor and anti-microbial properties and can be used as drug delivery agents. In this study, biosurfactant was synthesized by using a strain of acillus subtilis. The biosurfactant thus produced was analysed by emulsification assay, oil spilling test, and haemolytic test. Biosurfactant-mediated silver nanoparticles were synthesised by microwave irradiation of the culture supernatant and further characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy for a range of 400-600 nm. The UV–vis spectra showed a surface plasmon resonance vibration band at 410 nm corresponding to the peak of silver nanoparticles.

Keywords: biosurfactant, Bacillus subtilis, silver nano particle, lipopeptide

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Authors: Pratthana Ammaraphitak, Piyachon Ketsuwan, Rattapoom Prommana

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Electricity production from vermicompost liquid was investigated in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). The aim of this study was to determine the performance of vermicompost liquid as a biocatalyst for electricity production by MFCs. Chemical and physical parameters of vermicompost liquid as total nitrogen, ammonia-nitrogen, nitrate, nitrite, total phosphorus, potassium, organic matter, C:N ratio, pH, and electrical conductivity in MFCs were studied. The performance of MFCs was operated in open circuit mode for 7 days. The maximum open circuit voltage (OCV) was 0.45 V. The maximum power density of 5.29 ± 0.75 W/m² corresponding to a current density of 0.024 2 ± 0.0017 A/m² was achieved by the 1000 Ω on day 2. Vermicompost liquid has efficiency to generate electricity from organic waste.

Keywords: vermicompost liquid, microbial fuel cell, nutrient, electricity production

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Authors: Popy Bora, L. C. Bora, A. Bhattacharya, Sehnaz S. Ahmed

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Microbial bioagents, viz., Pseudomonas fluorescens, Bacillus subtilis, and Trichoderma viride were assessed for their ability to suppress grey blight caused by Pestalotiopsis theae, a major disease of tea crop in Assam. The expression of defense-related phytochemicals due to the application of these bioagents was also evaluated. The individual bioagents, as well as their combinations, were screened for their bioefficacy against P. theae in vitro using nutrient agar (NA) as basal medium. The treatment comprising a combination of the three bioagents, P. fluorescens, B. subtilis, and T. viride showed significantly the highest inhibition against the pathogen. Bioformulation of effective bioagent combinations was further evaluated under field condition, where significantly highest reduction of grey blight (90.30%), as well as the highest increase in the green leaf yield (10.52q/ha), was recorded due to application of the bioformulation containing the three bioagents. The application of the three bioformulation also recorded an enhanced level of caffeine (4.15%) and polyphenols (22.87%). A significant increase in the enzymatic activity of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase were recorded in the plants treated with the microbial bioformulation of the three bioagents. The present investigation indicates the role of microbial agents in suppressing disease, inducing plant defense response, as well as improving the quality of tea.

Keywords: enzymatic activity, grey blight, microbial bioagents, Pestalotiopsis theae, phytochemicals, plant defense, tea

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Authors: Promil Mehra, Nanthi Bolan, Jack Desbiolles, Risha Gupta

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Agricultural practices affect the soil physical and chemical properties, which in turn influence the soil microorganisms as a function of the soil biological environment. On the return to conventional tillage (CT) from continuing no-till (NT) cropping system, a very little information is available from the impact caused by the intermittent tillage on the soil biochemical properties from a short-term (2-year) study period. Therefore, the contribution made by different microorganisms (fungal, bacteria) was also investigated in order to find out the effective changes in the soil microbial activity under a South Australian dryland faring system. This study was conducted to understand the impact of microbial dynamics on the soil organic carbon (SOC) under NT and CT systems when treated with different levels of mulching (0, 2.5 and 5 t/ha). Our results demonstrated that from the incubation experiment the cumulative CO2 emitted from CT system was 34.5% higher than NT system. Relatively, the respiration from surface layer (0-10 cm) was significantly (P<0.05) higher by 8.5% and 15.8 from CT; 8% and 18.9% from NT system w.r.t 10-20 and 20-30 cm respectively. Further, the dehydrogenase enzyme activity (DHA) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) were both significantly lower (P<0.05) under CT, i.e., 7.4%, 7.2%, 6.0% (DHA) and 19.7%, 15.7%, 4% (MBC) across the different mulching levels (0, 2.5, 5 t/ha) respectively. In general, it was found that from both the tillage system the enzyme activity and MBC decreased with the increase in depth (0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm) and with the increase in mulching rate (0, 2.5 and 5 t/ha). From the perspective of microbial stress, there was 28.6% higher stress under CT system compared to NT system. Whereas, the microbial activity of different microorganisms like fungal and bacterial activities were determined by substrate-induced inhibition respiration using antibiotics like cycloheximide (16 mg/gm of soil) and streptomycin sulphate (14 mg/gm of soil), by trapping the CO2 using an alkali (0.5 M NaOH) solution. The microbial activities were confirmed through platting technique, where it was that found bacterial activities were 46.2% and 38.9% higher than fungal activity under CT and NT system. In conclusion, it was expected that changes in the relative abundance and activity of different microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) under different tillage systems could significantly affect the C cycling and storage due to its unique structures and differential interactions with the soil physical properties.

Keywords: tillage, soil respiration, MBC, fungal-bacterial activity

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Authors: Elsayed Ahmed Elsayed, Azza Noor El-Deen, Mohamed A. Farid, Mohamed A. Wadaan

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Recently, a great attention has been paid to the use of dietary carbohydrates as prebiotic functional foods. Among the new commercially available products, fructooligosaccharides (FOS), which are microbial produced from sucrose, have attracted special interest due to their valuable properties and, thus, have a great economic potential for the sugar industrial branch. They are non-cariogenic sweeteners of low caloric value, as they are not hydrolyzed by the gastro-intestinal enzymes, promoting selectively the growth of the bifidobacteria in the colon, helping to eliminate the harmful microbial species to human and animal health and preventing colon cancer. FOS has been also found to reduce cholesterol, phospholipids and triglyceride levels in blood. FOS has been mainly produced by microbial fructosyltransferase (FTase) enzymes. The present work outlines bioprocess optimization for different cultivation parameters affecting the production of FTase by Penicillium aurantiogriseum AUMC 5605. The optimization involves both traditional as well as fractional factorial design approaches. Additionally, the production process will be compared under batch and fed-batch conditions. Finally, the optimized process conditions will be applied to 5-L stirred tank bioreactor cultivations.

Keywords: prebiotics, fructooligosaccharides, optimization, cultivation

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Authors: Kanchan Vishwakarma, Shivesh Sharma, Nitin Kumar

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Soil is incoherent matter on Earth’s surface having organic and mineral content. The spatial variation of 4 soil enzyme activities and microbial biomass were assessed for two seasons’ viz. monsoon and winter along the latitudinal gradient in North-central India as the area of this study is fettered with respect to national status. The study was facilitated to encompass the effect of climate change, enzyme activity and biomass on nutrient cycling. Top soils were sampled from 4 sites in North-India. There were significant correlations found between organic C, N & P wrt to latitude gradient in two seasons. This distribution of enzyme activities and microbial biomass was consequence of alterations in temperature and moisture of soil because of which soil properties change along the latitude transect.

Keywords: latitude gradient, microbial biomass, moisture, soil, organic carbon, temperature

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Authors: M. S. Matlala, I. Ignatious

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Environmental sustainability has taken the center stage in human life all over the world. Energy is the most essential component of our life. The conventional sources of energy are non-renewable and have a detrimental environmental impact. Therefore, there is a need to move from conventional to non-conventional renewable energy sources to satisfy the world’s energy demands. The study aimed at screening for microbial cellulolytic enzymes using a proteomic approach. The objectives were to screen for microbial cellulases with high specific activity and separate the cellulolytic enzymes using a combination of zymography and two-dimensional (2-D) gel electrophoresis followed by tryptic digestion, Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation-Time of Flight (MALDI-TOF) and bioinformatics analysis. Fungal and bacterial isolates were cultured in M9 minimal and Mandel media for a period of 168 hours at 60°C and 30°C with cellobiose and Avicel as carbon sources. Microbial cells were separated from supernatants through centrifugation, and the crude enzyme from the cultures was used for the determination of cellulase activity, zymography, SDS-PAGE, and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Five isolates, with lytic action on carbon sources studied, were a bacterial strain (BARK) and fungal strains (VCFF1, VCFF14, VCFF17, and VCFF18). Peak cellulase production by the selected isolates was found to be 3.8U/ml, 2.09U/ml, 3.38U/ml, 3.18U/ml, and 1.95U/ml, respectively. Two-dimensional gel protein maps resulted in the separation and quantitative expression of different proteins by the microbial isolates. MALDI-TOF analysis and database search showed that the expressed proteins in this study closely relate to different glycoside hydrolases produced by other microbial species with an acceptable confidence level of 100%.

Keywords: cellulases, energy, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation-time of flight, MALDI-TOF MS

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Authors: Kiran Roat, Bhanupriya Sanger, Gayatri Swarnakar

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Amphistomiasis disease is the main health problem throughout of the world and responsible for great economic losses to cattle industries, mostly to poor cattle farmers in developing countries. Among the rumen parasites, the Paramphistomum cervi were collected from the rumen of freshly slaughtered buffalo for the further treatment process. Trigonella foenum-graecum is commonly known as methi and fenugreek and their seeds are known for their therapeutic value. The present study was considered to evaluate in vitro efficacy of aqueous extract of Trigonella foenum-graecum on P. cervi. 130 mg/ml concentration of aqueous extract shows total mortality of P. cervi at 5 hours. The ultrastructural surface topography of untreated animal was compared with a treated animal by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The body of untreated P. cervi in conical shape, tegumental surface is highly ridged with transverse folds and present abundance number of papillaes. Observations demonstrated that the body of treated P. cervi become shrunken & elongated. Treated parasite shows the deep breakage in tegument and the disappearance of tegumental folds & papillae. Severe blebs formations have been found. Above findings, it can be concluded that the seeds of Trigonella foenum-graecum can be used as an anthelminthic agent to eliminate P. cervi from the body of buffalo.

Keywords: Paramphistomum cervi, Trigonella foenum-graecum, scanning electron microscope, buffalo

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Authors: Nurcan Cetinkaya

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The aim of the study was to estimate the microbial-N flow to small intestine based on daily urinary purine derivatives(PD) mainly xanthine, hypoxanthine, uric acid and allantoin excretion in Angora goats fed by grass hay and concentrate (Period I); barley straw and concentrate (Period II). Daily urine samples were collected during last 3 days of each period from 10 individually penned Angora bucks( LW 30-35 Kg, 2-3 years old) receiving ad libitum grass hay or barley straw and 300 g/d concentrate. Fresh water was always available. 4N H2SO4 was added to collected daily urine .samples to keep pH under 3 to avoid of uric acid precipitation. Diluted urine samples were stored at -20°C until analysis. Urine samples were analyzed for xanthine, hypoxanthine, uric acid, allantoin and creatinine by High-Performance Liquid Chromatographic Method (HPLC). Urine was diluted 1:15 in ratio with water and duplicate samples were prepared for HPLC analysis. Calculated mean levels (n=60) for urinary xanthine, hypoxanthine, uric acid, allantoin, total PD and creatinine excretion were 0.39±0.02 , 0.26±0.03, 0.59±0.06, 5.91±0.50, 7.15±0.57 and 3.75±0.40 mmol/L for Period I respectively; 0.35±0.03, 0.21±0.02, 0.55±0.05, 5.60±0.47, 6.71±0.46 and 3.73±0.41 mmol/L for Period II respectively.Mean values of Period I and II were significantly different (P< 0.05) except creatinine excretion. Estimated mean microbial-N supply to the small intestine for Period I and II in Angora goats were 5.72±0.46 and 5.41±0.61 g N/d respectively. The effects of grass hay and barley straw feeding on microbial-N supply to small intestine were found significantly different (P< 0.05). In conclusion, grass hay showed a better effect on the ruminal microbial protein synthesis compared to barley straw, therefore; grass hay is suggested as roughage source in Angora goat feeding.

Keywords: angora goat, HPLC method, microbial-N supply to small intestine, urinary purine derivatives

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Authors: Menuka Maharjan

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In the name of food security, agriculture intensification through conventional farming is being implemented in Nepal. Government focus on increasing agriculture production completely ignores soil as well human health. This leads to create serious soil degradation, i.e., reduction of soil fertility and microbial activity and health hazard in the country. On this note, organic farming is sustainable agriculture approach which can address challenge of sustaining food security while protecting the environment. This creates a win-win situation both for people and the environment. However, people have limited knowledge on significance of organic farming for environment conservation and food security especially developing countries like Nepal. Thus, the objective of the study was to assess the impacts of organic farming on soil fertility and microbial activity compared to conventional farming and forest in Chitwan, Nepal. Total soil organic carbon (C) was highest in organic farming (24 mg C g⁻¹ soil) followed by conventional farming (15 mg C g⁻¹ soil) and forest (9 mg C g⁻¹ soil) in the topsoil layer (0-10 cm depth). A similar trend was found for total nitrogen (N) content in all three land uses with organic farming soil possessing the highest total N content in both 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm depth. Microbial biomass C and N were also highest under organic farming, especially in the topsoil layer (350 and 46 mg g⁻¹ soil, respectively). Similarly, microbial biomass phosphorus (P) was higher (3.6 and 1.0 mg P kg⁻¹ at 0-10 and 10-20 cm depth, respectively) in organic farming compared to conventional farming and forest at both depths. However, conventional farming and forest soils had similar microbial biomass (C, N, and P) content. After conversion of forest, the P stock significantly increased by 373% and 170% in soil under organic farming at 0-10 and 10-20 cm depth, respectively. In conventional farming, the P stock increased by 64% and 36% at 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm depth, respectively, compared to forest. Overall, organic farming practices, i.e., crop rotation, residue input and farmyard manure application, significantly alters soil fertility and microbial activity. Organic farming system is emerging as a sustainable land use system which can address the issues of food security and environment conservation by increasing sustainable agriculture production and carbon sequestration, respectively, supporting to achieve goals of sustainable development.

Keywords: organic farming, soil fertility, micobial biomas, food security

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Authors: Shima Fasahat

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This research is an experimental research which was done about microbial fuel cells in order to study them for electricity generating and wastewater treatment. These days, it is very important to find new, clean and sustainable ways for energy supplying. Because of this reason there are many researchers around the world who are studying about new and sustainable energies. There are different ways to produce these kind of energies like: solar cells, wind turbines, geothermal energy, fuel cells and many other ways. Fuel cells have different types one of these types is microbial fuel cell. In this research, an MFC was built in order to study how it can be used for electricity generating and wastewater treatment. The microbial fuel cell which was used in this research is a reactor that has two tanks with a catalyst solution. The chemical reaction in microbial fuel cells is a redox reaction. The microbial fuel cell in this research is a two chamber MFC. Anode chamber is an anaerobic one (ABR reactor) and the other chamber is a cathode chamber. Anode chamber consists of stabilized sludge which is the source of microorganisms that do redox reaction. The main microorganisms here are: Propionibacterium and Clostridium. The electrodes of anode chamber are graphite pages. Cathode chamber consists of graphite page electrodes and catalysts like: O₂, KMnO₄ and C₆N₆FeK₄. The membrane which separates the chambers is Nafion117. The reason of choosing this membrane is explained in the complete paper. The main goal of this research is to generate electricity and treating wastewater. It was found that when you use electron receptor compounds like: O_2, MnO₄, C₆N₆FeK₄ the velocity of electron receiving speeds up and in a less time more current will be achieved. It was found that the best compounds for this purpose are compounds which have iron in their chemical formula. It is also important to pay attention to the amount of nutrients which enters to bacteria chamber. By adding extra nutrients in some cases the result will be reverse.  By using ABR the amount of chemical oxidation demand reduces per day till it arrives to a stable amount.

Keywords: anaerobic baffled reactor, bioenergy, electrode, energy efficient, microbial fuel cell, renewable chemicals, sustainable

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Authors: R. Hurtado-Ortiz, D. Clermont, M. Schüngel, C. Bizet, D. Smith, E. Stackebrandt

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Microbiological resources and their derivatives are the essential raw material for the advancement of human health, agro-food, food security, biotechnology, research and development in all life sciences. Microbial resources, and their genetic and metabolic products, are utilised in many areas such as production of healthy and functional food, identification of new antimicrobials against emerging and resistant pathogens, fighting agricultural disease, identifying novel energy sources on the basis of microbial biomass and screening for new active molecules for the bio-industries. The complexity of public collections, distribution and use of living biological material (not only living but also DNA, services, training, consultation, etc.) and service offer, demands the coordination and sharing of policies, processes and procedures. The Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure (MIRRI) is an initiative within the European Strategy Forum Infrastructures (ESFRI), bring together 16 partners including 13 European public microbial culture collections and biological resource centres (BRCs), supported by several European and non-European associated partners. The objective of MIRRI is to support innovation in microbiology by provision of a one-stop shop for well-characterized microbial resources and high quality services on a not-for-profit basis for biotechnology in support of microbiological research. In addition, MIRRI contributes to the structuring of microbial resources capacity both at the national and European levels. This will facilitate access to microorganisms for biotechnology for the enhancement of the bio-economy in Europe. MIRRI will overcome the fragmentation of access to current resources and services, develop harmonised strategies for delivery of associated information, ensure bio-security and other regulatory conditions to bring access and promote the uptake of these resources into European research. Data mining of the landscape of current information is needed to discover potential and drive innovation, to ensure the uptake of high quality microbial resources into research. MIRRI is in its Preparatory Phase focusing on governance and structure including technical, legal governance and financial issues. MIRRI will help the Biological Resources Centres to work more closely with policy makers, stakeholders, funders and researchers, to deliver resources and services needed for innovation.

Keywords: culture collections, microbiology, infrastructure, microbial resources, biotechnology

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Authors: M. Doyeni, S. Suproniene, V. Tilvikiene

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Agricultural wastes contribute significantly to global climate change through greenhouse gas emissions if not adequately recycled and sustainably managed. A recurring agricultural waste is livestock wastes that have consistently served as feedstock for biogas systems. The objective of this study was to access the influence of digestate fertilization on soil microbial activity and greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural fields. Wheat (Triticum spp. L.) was fertilized with different types of animal wastes digestates (organic fertilizers) and mineral nitrogen (inorganic fertilizer) for three years. The 170 kg N ha⁻¹ presented in digestates were split fertilized at an application rate of 90 and 80 kg N ha⁻¹. The soil microorganism activity could be predicted significantly using the dehydrogenase activity and soil microbial biomass carbon. By combining the two different monitoring approaches, the different methods applied in this study were sensitive to enzymatic activities and organic carbon in the living component of the soil organic matter. The emissions of greenhouse gasses (carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O) were monitored directly by a static chamber system. The soil and environmental variables were measured to determine their influence on greenhouse gas emissions. Emission peaks was observed in N₂O and CO₂ after the first application of fertilizers with the emissions flattening out over the cultivating season while CH₄ emission was negligible with no apparent patterns observed. Microbial biomass carbon and dehydrogenase activity were affected by the fertilized organic digestates. A significant difference was recorded between the control and the digestate treated soils for the microbial biomass carbon and dehydrogenase. Results also showed individual and cumulative emissions of CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O from the digestates were relatively low suggesting the digestate fertilization can be an efficient method for improving soil quality and reducing greenhouse gases from agricultural sources in temperate climate conditions.

Keywords: greenhouse gas emission, manure digestate, soil microbial activity, yield

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Authors: Syahidah N. Zulkifli, Herlina A. Rahim, Nurul A. M. Subha

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Sustaining water quality is critical in order to avoid any harmful health consequences for end-user consumers. The detection of microbial impurities at the household level is the foundation of water security. Water quality is now monitored only at water utilities or infrastructure, such as water treatment facilities or reservoirs. This research provides a first-hand scientific understanding of microbial composition presence in Malaysia’s household point-of-use (POUs) water supply influenced by seasonal fluctuations, standstill periods, and flow dynamics by using the NIR-Raman spectroscopic technique. According to the findings, 20% of water samples were contaminated by pathogenic bacteria, which are Legionella and Salmonella cells. A comparison of the spectra reveals significant signature peaks (420 cm⁻¹ to 1800 cm⁻¹), including species-specific bands. This demonstrates the importance of regularly monitoring POUs water quality to provide a safe and clean water supply to homeowners. Conventional Raman spectroscopy, up-to-date, is no longer suited for real-time monitoring. Therefore, this study introduced an alternative micro-spectrometer to give a rapid and sustainable way of monitoring POUs water quality. Assessing microbiological threats in water supply becomes more reliable and efficient by leveraging IoT protocol.

Keywords: microbial contaminants, water quality, water monitoring, Raman spectroscopy

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