<div style="text-align: justify;">A total of 22 endophytic bacteria were isolated from roots and nodules of Vigna radiata (mungbean) obtained from Jind district, Haryana. These were characterized on the basis of plant growth promoting traits. Almost all the endophytic bacteria produced IAA with maximum production of 81.63&micro;g/ml by isolate MJiR8. Among these, 100% root isolates and 84.6% nodule isolates resulted in in vitro root growth promotion of mungbean seedlings. All the isolates produced ammonia; eighteen (all root and nine nodule isolates) produced organic acid while only four root isolates were positive for siderophore production. The four isolates produced hydrogen cyanide and out of these only MJiR9 inhibited the growth of fungal pathogens Fusarium oxysporium and Aspergillus niger. All the endophytes were used to determine molecular diversity by ARDRA (Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis) Results revealed that the nodule isolates were more diverse, being present in separate clusters, in comparison to root isolates which were grouped together in cluster III.</div>

Isolation and characterization of plant growth promoting endophytic bacteria isolated from Vigna radiata

<div>Background: Group B streptococcus (GBS) or Streptococcus agalactiae is an important pathogen associated with bovine mastitis. The organism is also of public health consequences and may cause variety of infections ranging from neonatal sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis to localized infections and urinary tract infection or arthritisin adult humans. Widespread use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine has led to development of resistance among the pathogens. So there is need for surveillance of antimicrobial resistance to ensure effective treatment. 
 
Methods: Milk samples collected from mastitis affected animals were processed for isolation of&nbsp;Streptococcus agalactiae. The isolates were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility. Molecular characterisation was carried out by PCR to study the occurrence of resistance marker genes and virulence marker genes. RAPD was carried out to study genetic diversity among the isolates. 
 
Result: Six isolates of S. agalactiae were obtained from 182 milk samples. Highest resistance was observed against co-trimoxazole and tetracycline followed by ampicillin. tetM gene and tetO genes could be amplified in four and three isolates, respectively. None of the isolates showed amplification for ermA, ermB, mefA and mefE genes. Three isolates were positive for the five virulence genes tested (glnA, cfb, hylB, scaA and cyl). RAPD analysis demonstrated great intraspecific genetic diversity among the streptococcal isolates.</div>

Isolation, Antibiogram and Molecular Characterization of Group B Streptococci Isolates from Bovine Mastitis

<div>Background: Mouldy growth in food commodities by aflatoxin producing fungi is a serious health concern to animals as well as human beings due to the harmful effects of aflatoxins like hepatotoxicity, carcinogenicity, impairment of protein synthesis, formation of DNA adducts, etc. even in minute concentrations. A tropical climate with moderate temperature, high humidity and heavy rainfall provides optimal conditions for the growth of aflatoxin producing fungi like Aspergillus flavus in different food items. The current study was to examine if the substrate(s) in a food item has any role to play in aflatoxin production by A. flavus. 
 
Methods: The fungus was isolated from ten different edible materials and identified using standard procedure. The isolates were cultured in potato dextrose agar slants keeping the culture conditions identical in triplicates. The toxin extracted using chloroform as solvent and downstream processing to get crude toxin was quantified on the basis of dry weight. Thin layer chromatography was done and the fluorescence of the toxins from different isolates was visualised under high wavelength of ultra-violet light with standard Aflatoxin B1 chromatographed vis-a-vis to confirm presence of the toxin in all the extracted toxins.&nbsp; 
 
Result: Results of the extracted toxin dry weight comparison between different isolates as well as the fluorescence intensity in the chromatograms revealed that contaminated peanut isolate of A. flavus yielded the highest amount of crude toxin. Thus, the results indicate that there are some factor(s) in peanut that promote(s) aflatoxin production by A. flavus. This information was further used for formulating potato dextrose agar media for isolation of aflatoxin producing fungi by incorporating peanut extract in the media and comparing the amount of crude toxin yield.</div>

Comparison of Aflatoxin Yield from Peanut Isolate of Aspergillus flavus with Other Isolates

Background: Multidrug resistant strains of Escherichia coli have been causing worldwide outbreaks of food borne diseases in recent years. The emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of E. coli and the occurrence of transmissible drug resistance among the organism has amplified the complications associated with its control and treatment measures. Data associated with the prevalence, virulence factors and antimicrobial susceptibility of E. coli isolates are needed to be studied in order to develop an effective control strategy for colibacillosis in piggeries. The goal of the investigation was to study the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern and pathotyping of E. coli isolates from diarrhoeic piglets. 
 
Methods: 102 rectal swab samples were collected from diarrhoeic piglets of ICAR-AICRP/MSP on Pig, College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara, ICAR-National Research Centre on Pig, Rani, Guwahati, Assam and from different unorganized farms of the state. These samples were then inoculated in Luria Bertani (LB) broth and incubated aerobically at 37oC for 24 hours followed by sub culturing them in MacConkey&rsquo;s lactose agar (MLA) and Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) agar for purification of the suspected E. coli isolates. The isolates were characterized by biochemical tests and motility tests and were pathotyped based on detection of specific virulence genes by multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). 
 
Result: Out of 102 rectal swab samples examined, 92 (90.2%) yielded E. coli which included 41 (91.12%) of 45 samples collected from ICAR-AICRP/MSP on Pig, College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara and 32 (88.89%) of 36 samples from ICAR-National Research Centre on Pig, Rani, Guwahati, Assam and 19 (90.48%) of 21 samples from different unorganized farms. All the 92 E. coli isolates were examined for the presence of stx1, est1, elt1 and eaeA genes using specific primers. Among these isolates, 25 (27.17%) were positive for stx1 gene, 18(19.56%) for est1 gene, 6(6.52%) for elt1 gene, 3 (3.26%) for both genes est1 and elt1 and 12 (13.04%) for eaeA gene. Antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the isolates revealed that the highest percentage (71.74%) of the isolates were resistant to tetracycline and the least (4.34%) to imipenem.

Isolation, Pathotyping and Drug Susceptibility Pattern of Escherichia coli Isolates from Diarrheic Piglets

<div>Background: Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae is one of the most devastating zoonotic bacterial pathogen affects both fish and human health worldwide. The study aims to isolate and characterize P. damselae subsp. damselae from both wild caught and cage culture fishes. The virulence potential of P. damselae subsp. damselae on damselfish also been revealed. 
 
Methods: A total of 212 finfishes from cage culture and wild environment were collected from the south east coast of India and identified for the presence of zoonotic P. damselae subsp. damselae. Standard biochemical and molecular methods (using specific gene) were employed to identify the P. damselae subsp. damselae isolates. A total of 61 isolates were identified as P. damselae subsp. damselae. Dendogram analysis was done for selected 30 strains based on band thickness of PCR product after using IS and ERIC PCR. The data were statistically analysed by unweighted pair group method using mathematic averages (UPGMA) for numerical analysis of banding patterns. The thirty out of sixty one isolates (20% or 50%) showed their presence in both wild caught and cage cultured fishes. The isolates from the wild caught fish were tested for their virulence on damsel fish and histopathological effect also studied. &nbsp; &nbsp; 
 
Result: High prevalence of P. damselae subsp. damselae in wild caught parrot fish was noticed when compared to the cage culture fishes. The dendrogram obtained after numerical analysis with the Dice coefficient and UPGMA method shows that all patterns shared more than 50% similarity. Experimental challenge revealed that P. damselae subsp. damselae isolates from wild caught will cause severe tissue damage, abnormal behavior, clinical signs and also leads to fish mortality.</div>

<div>Isolation, Molecular Characterization and Virulence Study (Pathogenesis) of Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae Isolated from Sea-cage and Wild Fishes</div>

<div style="text-align:justify">Background: India leads the global market in milk production. However, bovine mastitis, which is the mammary gland inflammation in dairy cattle characterized by physical, chemical, bacteriological changes in milk results in commercial losses. Staphylococcus aureus, is the major causative agent. The treatment of mastitis caused by this pathogen is mainly by antibiotics. Emphasizing on the one health concept, phage therapy is an appropriate alternative to antibiotic. The present study was aimed to isolate and characterize bacteriophages against Staphylococcus aureus associated with bovine mastitis. 
 
Methods: Thirty two isolates of S. aureus obtained from the milk of mastitis cows were characterized by phenotypic and genotypic methods. Antibiotic susceptibility of the isolates was carried out by disk diffusion assay. Milk and cow shed wastewater were used for phage isolation. Phages were characterized by host susceptibility and RAPD assay. 
 
Result: Nineteen phages were isolated from the cowshed waste water. All the milk samples showed negative for the presence of phage. The phage 24 (A2) which had the broadest host range, was selected for the CFU drop assay. The phage was able to clear the lawn of S. aureus culture when grown on agar at different time points thus indicating that topical application of this phage would be a potential strategy to control S. aureus infection leading to mastitis. This study provides a basis to continue the exploration of the potential of PSA2 phage as a candidate for the treatment of Staphylococcal mastitis.</div>

<div style="text-align:justify">Isolation of Phages and Study of their In vitro Efficacy on Staphylococcus aureus Isolates Originating from Bovine Subclinical Mastitis</div>

<div style="text-align: justify;">In Bangladesh, goat farming is substantially hampered due to outbreaks of respiratory infectious diseases like pneumonia causing morbidity, mortality and economic losses in Black Bengal goats. Among the infectious agents, Pasteurella maltocida is more frequently associated with the outbreak of acute pneumonia and death of goats. Hence, the occurrence of P. multocida in the goat population should be regularly investigated to effectively control the disease. Furthermore, antibiotic resistance/sensitivity profiling of P. maltocida also needs to be regularly updated for designing or updating of efficient treatment strategy. In this investigation, 150 nasal swab samples from goats were collected from Savar region of Bangladesh and on the basis of colony, staining and biochemical characteristics P. multocida were isolated in 25 samples. Disc diffusion assay was used to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility of 20 isolates against 9 different antimicrobial agents. This study revealed that the rate of P. multocida isolated from goats in Savar area was about 16.67%. The incidence of P. multocida was higher in goats affected with acute pneumonia than apparently healthy goats. P. multocida was fully resistant to penicillin and amoxicillin whereas showed high sensitivity towards ciprofloxacin followed by streptomycin and neomycin. This study suggests that ciprofloxacin, streptomycin and neomycin are potent anti-Pasteurella multocida drugs.</div>

<div style="text-align: justify;">Incidence and Antibiotic Susceptibility Profile of Pasteurella Maltocida Isolates Isolated from Goats in Savar Area of Bangladesh</div>

<div style="text-align: justify;">In the present study, eight rhizobial strains (RH-1 to RH- 8) were &nbsp;isolated from root nodules of cowpea which grows in acidic soils of Wayanad . They were characterized based on morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular characteristics. The results on plant growth promoting traits showed all isolates positive to IAA production, four positive to ammonia production and five positive for in vitro siderophore production. Three isolates exhibited antagonistic activity &nbsp; and none of them showed volatile cyanogen production.The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed all the isolates to show similarity to Rhizobium sp. While rhizobia generally have a pH range of 6.5-7.5 for optimum growth, the isolates RH-1. RH-2, RH-4 and RH-8 grew in a liquid yeast extract - mannitol agar medium at pH-4, suggesting acid tolerance in the strain of Rhizobium .The isolates were authenticated for their nodulation and growth promotion of cowpea in a paper cup experiment and four isolates (RH-2, RH-3, RH-4 and RH-5) were evaluated for their growth promotion in cowpea under field condition. It was observed that inoculation of Rhizobium increased nodulation, growth parameters and yield of cowpea compared to uninoculated control.This study showed that these rhizobial isolates with plant growth promoting traits can be used to promote the growth and yield of cow peain &nbsp;acidic soils of &nbsp;Kerala.</div>

Isolation and characterization of native cowpea rhizobia from Wayanad India

<div>Background: Riemerella anatipestifer (R. anatipestifer) is a gram negative, microaerophilic, non-motile, bipolar bacteria. High genetic diversity and molecular differentiation were reported among field isolates. Although the bacterium causes one of the most economically important duck diseases in the north-eastern region of India, little work has been done on isolation, identification and molecular characterization of the bacteria. Hence, the present investigation was undertaken with a view to characterize the R. anatipestifer isolates from ducks of Assam.</div>

<div> 
Methods: Phenotypic and molecular identification of R. anatipestifer isolates from domesticated ducks of Assam, India were carried out during the period from February, 2019 to January 2020. A total of 624 samples (Ocular swab, throat swab, liver, spleen, kidney, brain, heart, lung) from ducks comprising of apparently healthy, ailing and dead ducks were collected from five districts of Assam, India were processed to isolate and identify the bacteria. The tentative identification of the bacteria was done based on phenotypic characteristics viz., colony morphology, growth characteristics and biochemical reactions. All the phenotypically positive isolates were further subjected to molecular identification based on PCR assay targeting 16S rRNA gene and ERIC sequence. 
 
&nbsp;</div>

<div>Result: The bacteria could be isolated from different field samples. The highest percentage of the samples that yielded the bacteria are from brain (76%) followed by spleen (74%) of dead ducks and less number of ocular swab (33%) from apparently healthy ducks were found positive. Sequencing of the amplified product of the selected R. anatipestifer isolates targeting 16S rRNA gene revealed homology percentage of 96.5-100%. Further, sequences representing five geographical locations were submitted to NCBI gene bank. Phylogenetic studies of the isolates indicated that there is prevalence of at least two genetically different strains of R. anatipestifer in the study area. The study suggested that the R. anatipestifer infection is endemic in Assam causing varying rate of morbidity (39%) and mortality (53%) and molecular based confirmation is necessary besides phenotypic identification.</div>

<div>Isolation and Molecular Characterization of Riemerella anatipestifer from Domesticated Ducks of Assam, India</div>

<div style="text-align: justify;">According to &lsquo;the Regulation of Reporting of Notifiable Animal Diseases in Turkey&rsquo;, the valid diagnosis for Brucellosis in livestock, which is in the list of notifiable animal diseases, is the isolation and identification of Brucellae as the gold standard as mentioned in &lsquo;the Regulation of the Fight with Brucella&rsquo;. In the context of &lsquo;The Brucellosis Control and Eradication Program&rsquo; in Turkey, where mass vaccination is practised as a part of this program in livestock, serological diagnosis is not considered to be valid except for Brucella free herds. While most of the current molecular techniques can differentiate Brucella organism at the genus level, they generally cannot make differentiation at the biovar-level. The primary purpose of this study is to determine the most prevalent Brucella biovars and the biovar distribution of Brucella isolates from the abort cases of livestock between 2010 and 2015 in Turkey. In this study, 5203 Brucella field isolates sent to our laboratory from different parts of Turkey for Brucella species and biovar identification between 2010 and 2015 were biotyped through conventional biotyping procedures. According to the results showing the percentages of dominant biovars causing brucellosis in livestock, the most common biovar was B. abortus biovar-3 in cattle and B.melitensis biovar-3 in sheep and goats. Vaccine strains isolated from goats were not included in biovar distribution &nbsp;in this study.</div>