Evaluation of antibiotic resistance patterns and heavy metals tolerance of some bacteria isolated from contaminated soils and sediments from Warri, Delta State, Nigeria

This work investigated the antibiotic resistance patterns and heavy metals such as Lead (Pb), Zinc (Zn), Cadmium (Cd) and iron (Fe) tolerance of selected bacteria isolated from contaminated soils and sediments around Warri area of Delta State. The heterotrophic bacterial counts for the sampled soils and sediments ranged from 1.7×105 cfu/g to 5.7×105cfu/g for Ubeji river sediments, 1.0×105 cfu/g to 9.0×105cfu/g for spare parts dumpsite and 1.2×104cfu/g to 9.0×104 cfu/g for Ifie depot sites respectively. The characterized bacterial isolates included; Klebsiella sp, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus sp., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella mobilis and Staphylococcus sp., Micrococcus sp. and Pseudomonas aeroginosa. Bacterial isolates showed multiple drug resistance and the most resistant isolates were S. aureus, E. coli and P. aeroginosa while K. mobilis exhibited the least resistance. The tolerance of the bacterial isolates exposed to varying concentrations of Pb2+, Cd2+, Fe2+, and Zn2+was ascertained using agar diffusion method. All the bacterial isolates exhibited varying degree of susceptibility at different concentrations of Pb and Cd while the organisms displayed abundant and moderate growth in the presence of Fe and Zn even at higher concentrations. The ability of these bacteria to resist antibiotics and heavy metal tolerance could present serious danger to the environment as the resistance genes may be transferred to surrounding wild type microbial cells.Keywords: Heavy metals, Antibiotics resistance, tolerance, Ubeji river sediments, Warr

Effects of Pharmaceutical Effluents on Soil Microbiome and Physicochemical Parameters

Soil contamination from pharmaceuticals is an evolving issue, consequently measurable data on their microbial effects are deficient. Thus, this study investigated the effects of pharmaceutical effluents on soil microbiome and the physicochemical parameters of soil samples obtained from Ugbowo, Benin City, Nigeria using standard procedures. The experiment which lasted for four weeks consists of four treatments of soil samples with pharmaceutical effluents of different percentages and one soil sample without pharmaceutical effluents (control). These include: soil treated with 250 ml of pharmaceutical effluents (25%); soil treated with 500 ml of pharmaceutical effluents (50%); soil treated with 750 ml of pharmaceutical effluents (75%), soil treated with 1000 ml of pharmaceutical effluents (100%) and soil treated without pharmaceutical effluents (0%). There was significant increase in the soil microbial counts in all effluent treatments compared to the control soil. A total of 16 isolates were identified. Ten were isolates belonging to the genera Bacillus, Arthrobacter, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Escherichia, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Streptococcus, and Chromobacterium, while Fusarium sp., Mucor sp., Saccharomyces sp., Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus sp. and Penicillium sp. were the observed fungal isolates. The mean values of the soil physicochemical properties were all significantly higher in the treated groups compared to the control. This study revealed that pharmaceutical effluents altered the soil microbiological and physicochemical properties. The possibility of these alterations was due to the high nutrient content of the effluent which enriched the soil with additional nutrients needed for microbial growth

Hematobiochemical changes of lead Poisoning and amelioration with Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) Water in wistar albino rats

To determine the ameliorative effect of coconut water on haematobiochemical changes due to lead  poisoning in wistar albino rats for six weeks, sixty rats were assigned to four groups. 0.10g/l of lead  and 75ml coconut (cocus nucifera l.) water were given orally for six weeks. The mean values of red  blood  cells, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, red blood cell distribution width and platelets  (8.10±0.63(×106μl), 52.7±0.87(μm3), 17.9±0.56(pg), 34.73±0.65(g/dl), 17.90±0.67(%) and 670.00±42.22(×103μl) respectively) reduced in lead treated rats when compared with control mean values (8.41 ± 0.90(×106μl), 56.60 ± 1.55(μm3), 19.33 ± 0.82(pg), 34.93 ± 0.90(g/dl), 18.27 ± 0.73(%) and  818.33± 123.68(×103μl) respectively ) and these values increased in75ml coconut water only group and the group of 0.10g/l lead + 75ml coconut water  except mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, and red blood cell distribution width of the 75ml coconut water only. The mean values of white blood cells, lymphocytes, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, low  density lipoprotein-cholesterol/high density lipoproteincholesterol and total cholesterol/high density lipoprotein-cholesterol increased (12.23±0.57(×103μl),   79.83±3.87(%), 64.66±6.01(mg/dl), 89.00±7.94(mg/dl), 22.67±6.93(mg/dl), 21.00±4.58(mg/dl), 1.29±0.62 and 3.36±0.83 respectively ) in the lead group when compared with mean values of control group (5.83±0.74(×103μl), 69.07±10.57(%), 54.00±4.04(mg/dl), 97.33±11.34(mg/dl),   20.00±3.06(mg/dl), 17.00±6.51(mg/dl), 0.97±0.41 and 2.87±0.55 respectively) but the mean values decreased when compared with the mean values of group of 75ml coconut water only and group of 0.10g/l lead + 75ml coconut water, except the mean values of high density lipoprotein-cholesterol. These results indicate that coconut water could ameliorate effects of lead toxicity © JASEMKeywords: Albino rats, Amelioration, Cocus nucifera L, Haematobiochemical, Lead toxicity.

Environmental Sustainability: A Review of Termite Mound Soil Material and Its Bacteria

The high quantity of nutrients accumulated in termite mound soils have placed termite mound as a ‘gold mine’ for bacteria concentrations. However, over the years, not much attention has been given to the bacteria present in termite mound soil. This is because many studies have focused on approaches to manage termites which they see as menace to agricultural crops and buildings. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the potential application of termite mound soil material and its bacteria for biotechnological purposes. This review has been grouped into four key parts: The termite mound as hotspot for bacterial concentration, the degradation of lignocellulose for biofuel production, termite mound soil as a soil amendment, and the role of termite mound soil and its bacteria in bioremediation and bio-filtration. Therefore, the effective usage of the termite mound soil material and its bacteria in an ecofriendly manner could ensure environmental sustainability

Dataset of amplicon metagenomic assessment of barley rhizosphere bacteria under different fertilization regimes

The metagenomic dataset profiled in this research is built on bacterial 16S rRNA gene amplicon of DNA mined from barley rhizosphere under chemical (CB) and organic (OB) fertilization. Amplicon-based sequencing was prepared by the Illumina platform, and the raw sequence dataset was examined using Metagenomic Rast Server (MG-RAST). The metagenome comprised sixteen samples that include CB1 (494,583 bp), CB2 (586,532 bp), CB3 (706,685 bp), CB4 (574,606 bp), CB5 (395,460 bp), CB6 (520,822 bp), CB7 (511,729 bp), CB8 (548,074 bp), OB1 (642,794 bp), OB2 (513,767 bp), OB3 (461,293 bp), OB4 (498,241 bp), OB5 (689,497 bp), OB6 (423,436 bp), OB7 (478,657 bp) and OB8 (279,186 bp). Information from the metagenome sequences is accessible under the bioproject numbers PRJNA827679 (CB1), PRJNA827686 (CB2), PRJNA827693 (CB3), PRJNA827699 (CB4), PRJNA827706 (CB5), PRJNA827761 (CB6), PRJNA827780 (CB7), PRJNA827786 (CB8), PRJNA826806 (OB1), PRJNA826824 (OB2), PRJNA826834 (OB3), PRJNA826841 (OB4), PRJNA826853 (OB5), PRJNA827254 (OB6), PRJNA827256 (OB7), and PRJNA827257 (OB8) at NCBI. Actinobacteria dominated the soil samples at the phylum level

Profiling the Functional Diversity of Termite Mound Soil Bacteria as Revealed by Shotgun Sequencing

Profiling the metabolic processes performed by bacteria is vital both for understanding and for manipulating ecosystems for industrial or research purposes. In this study we aim to assess the bacterial functional diversity in termite mound soils with the assumption that significant differences will be observed in the functional diversity of bacteria between the termite mound soils and their surrounding soils and that each environment has a distinguishing metabolic profile. Here, metagenomic DNA extracted from termite mound soils and their corresponding surrounding soils, which are 10 m apart, were sequenced using a shotgun sequencing approach. Our results revealed that the relative abundances of 16 functional categories differed significantly between both habitats. The α diversity analysis indicated no significant difference in bacterial functional categories within the habitats while the β diversity showed that the bacterial functional categories varied significantly between the termite mound soils and the surrounding soil samples. The variations in soil physical and chemical properties existing between the two environments were held accountable for the differences in bacterial functional structure. With the high relative abundance of functional categories with unknown function reported in this study, this could signify the likelihood of getting novel genes from termite mound soils, which are needed for research and commercial applications

Anthropogenic fertilization influences a shift in barley rhizosphere microbial communities

Background Anthropogenic mediations contribute a significant role in stimulating positive reactions in soil–plant interactions; however, methodical reports on how anthropogenic activities impact soil microorganism-induced properties and soil health are still inadequate. In this study, we evaluated the influence of anthropogenic fertilization of farmland soil on barley rhizosphere microbial community structure and diversity, and the significant impacts on agro-ecosystem productivity. This will help validate the premise that soil amendment with prolonged synthetic fertilizers can lead to a significant reduction in bacterial abundance and diversity, while soils amended with organic fertilizers elicit the succession of the native soil microbial community and favor the growth of copiotrophic bacteria. Methods The total metagenomic DNA was extracted from soils obtained from the barley rhizosphere under chemical fertilization (CB), organic fertilization (OB), and bulk soil (NB). Subsequently, these samples were sequenced using an amplicon-based sequencing approach, and the raw sequence dataset was examined using a metagenomic rast server (MG-RAST). Results Our findings showed that all environments (CB, OB, and NB) shared numerous soil bacterial phyla but with different compositions. However, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria predominated in the barley rhizosphere under chemical fertilization, organic fertilization, and bulk soils, respectively. Alpha and beta diversity analysis showed that the diversity of bacteria under organic barley rhizosphere was significantly higher and more evenly distributed than bacteria under chemical fertilization and bulk soil. Conclusion Understanding the impact of conventional and organic fertilizers on the structure, composition, and diversity of the rhizosphere microbiome will assist in soil engineering to enhance microbial diversity in the agroecosystem

Termite Societies Promote the Taxonomic and Functional Diversity of Archaeal Communities in Mound Soils

Recent studies involving microbial communities in termite mounds have been more focused on bacteria and fungi with little attention given to archaea, which play significant roles in nutrient cycling. Thus, we aimed at characterizing the archaeal taxonomic and functional diversity in two termite mound soils using the shotgun sequencing method with the assumption that termite activities could promote archaeal diversity. Our findings showed that termite mound soils have archaeal groups that are taxonomically different from their surrounding soils, with Euryarchaeota, Korarchaeota, and Nanoarchaeota being predominant while Thaumarchaeota and Crenarchaeota were predominant in the surrounding soils. Additionally, the observed nutrient pathways: phosphorus, nitrogen, and sulfur were all significantly more predominant in termite mound soils than in their comparative surrounding soils. Alpha diversity showed that archaea were not significantly different within termite mound soils and the surrounding soils. The beta diversity revealed significant differences in the archaeal taxonomic composition and their functional categories between the termite mounds and surrounding soils. Our canonical correspondence analysis revealed that the distribution of archaeal communities was likely dependent on the soil properties. Our results suggested that termite activities may promote the diversity of archaea; with some of our sequences grouped as unclassified archaea, there is a need for further research to unveil their identity