Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

1-14

Authors: Madhavan HN

Chloramphenicol has remained as a potent broad spectrum antibiotic over decades and due to its side effects its usage has been limited. In an era of increasing resistance to many antibacterial agents, chloramphenicol might have a role in the treatment of intra abdominal infections and respiratory tract infections caused by multi drug-resistant pathogens. This review article focuses on the spectrum of activity of chloramphenicol, mechanism of action , side effects , its parentral and oral use, its resistance mechanisms, toxicity elucidated by enteric pathogens against it and also on the possibility of its therapeutic use in treatment of multi - drug resistant bacterial infections.

1-4

Authors: Murugesan Subban

Bacterium exhibiting extra-cellular catalase activity was isolated from lime stone soil. Catalase is an essential component of the cell to cope up with oxidative stress. This study deals with simple detection method by plate assay for catalase activity from bacterium Acinetobacter calcoaceticus AV-6. Rapid assay method involves plating the supernatant on the substrate bound agar with the dye. This assay gave result within 60 s, producing a zone around the well. This enzyme was extracted from stationary phase at 36 h. The molecular weight of the protein was determined to be approximately 60 kDa. Sequencing studies were carried out and the strain Acinetobacter calcoaceticus AV6 was partially sequenced. The results imply the significance of this detection method in industries.

1-6

Authors: Eziashi E I

The fungal and bacterial populations in soil waste dumping site (WDS) and oil palm ecosystem (OPE) cultivated with oil palm seedlings have been studied. The month of April had the highest occurrence with 20.1 x 105 cfu/g from WDS. This was followed by May with 12.8 x 105 cfu/g (WDS), July 10.1 x 105 cfu/g (OPE) and August showed the lowest occurrence with 7.1 x105 cfu/g (OPE). The mean bacterial counts for the month of July recorded the highest occurrence with 8.42 x 103 from OPE. This was followed by May with 5.98 x 103 cfu/g (WDS), April 4.45 x 103 cfu/g (WDS) and August showed the lowest with 1.60 x 103 (OPE). The biochemical tests revealed the occurrence of eleven isolates. The Bacillus subtilis was the most occurred while Flavobacteria devorans was the least occurred. The frequency of occurrence of fungi isolated revealed that Penicillium expansium had the highest occurrence with 11.7%. The least occurrence was Trichoderma polysporum with 1.1%. The high counts of fungi and bacteria obtained in soil from WDS were an indication that the soil was influenced by the degrading matters at the sites. The soil from waste dumping sites best supported high fungal and bacterial populations while soil from oil palm ecosystem less supported the populations.

1-12

Authors: Shubha Gopal

Listeria is a ubiquitous organism and can be isolated from a variety of sources such as raw foods, soil, stream water, silage, sewage, plants. It is also been found in uncooked meats, fish, uncooked vegetables, unpasteurized milks, their products, processed foods and food processing environments from different parts of the world. Various methods are used to sanitize the food processing environments and to control the organism from the food and the food processing environments. Proper surveillance, rapid detection of Listeria is important to ensure the safety of food products. The article reviews major Listeria incidences in food and food related environments from a global perspective.