Insights into the Bacterial Profiles and Resistome Structures Following the Severe 2018 Flood in Kerala, South India

Extreme flooding is one of the major risk factors for human health, and it can significantly influence the microbial communities and enhance the mobility of infectious disease agents within the affected areas. The flood crisis in 2018 was one of the severe natural calamities recorded in the southern state of India (Kerala) that significantly affected its economy and ecological habitat. We utilized a combination of shotgun metagenomics and bioinformatics approaches to understand the bacterial profile and the abundance of pathogenic and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in extremely flooded areas of Kuttanad, Kerala (4-10 feet below sea level). Here we report the bacterial profiles of flooded sites that are abundant with virulent and resistant bacteria. The flooded sites were heavily contaminated with faecal contamination indicators such as Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis and multidrug-resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi/typhimurium, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Vibrio cholerae. The resistome of the flooded sites contains 103 known resistant genes, of which 38% are plasmid-encoded, where most of them are known to be associated with pathogenic bacteria. Our results reveal an overall picture of the bacterial profile and resistome of sites following a devastating flood event, which might increase the levels of pathogens and its associated risks.

Growth, viscosity and beta-glucanase activity of intestinal fluid in broiler chickens fed on barley-based diets with or without exogenous beta-glucanase

1. Three groups of birds were fed for up to 35 days on diets containing 500 g barley (cv. Condor)/kg diet, with or without exogenous beta-glucanase, either a commercial preparation or a recombinant endoglucanase. 2. Birds which received diets containing the exogenous enzymes grew faster for the first 3 weeks but after that there was no apparent difference in rate of growth. 3. beta-Glucanase activities in the crop and small intestine of birds given exogenous enzymes were generally higher than those of birds given only the basal diet. 4. Viscosity of intestinal fluid in birds given only the basal diet decreased with age but there was no corresponding increase in beta-glucanase activity. This discounts bacterial beta-glucanase as a contributory factor in the adaptation to beta-glucanase apparent in older birds.