Friendly microbes found in Godavari

NAGPUR: Most big rivers are known to be a storehouse of harmful chemicals, bacteria and viruses that may cause a number of diseases. But a research team of Sindhu Mahavidyalaya Centre for Biotechnology (SMVCB) have isolated certain beneficial micro-organisms with novel properties from Godavari river. These were found all along the river from origin at Trimbakeshwar near Nashik to Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh.Many of these organisms can act as bio-remediation agents for checking industrial pollution and also potential antibiotics.
The team has already identified and isolated 45 bacterial genes from various water samples collected from Godavari and submiited them to the GenBank (data bank of genes owned by the the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), United States). These genes have varied properties like antibiotic resistance as well as antibiotic producing properties. Some of them can produce bio-surfactants having antibiotic abilities while others can break toxic pollutants like phenol (industrial pollutant) into less toxic chemicals like catechol, a property responsible for the self-purification seen in big rivers like the Ganga.
The discoveries are a part of the three-year ongoing project worth Rs 37.78 lakh sponsored by the department of biotechnology (DBT), government of India. "It is for the first time that any big river-ecosystem besides Ganges is being studied on such a large scale at molecular level. Till now National Environmental Engineering Research Institute has studied the Ganga ecosystem. It is only the beginning of a major project. Studying the entire ecosystem may actually require at least 30 years of work. We only have a three year project. But we would be happy to continue to study Godavari if the project is extended," said B B S P Nag, co-ordinator, Biotechnology department of the college and mentor of the research team. Nag said it was very significant that for the first time DBT had allocated such a huge research project involving extremely sophisticated biotechnological investigations to a college.
Principal investigator, M L Jisnani said that apparently very few big rivers possess such varied bio-diversity. The project will go a long way in understanding the changes in microbial diversity due to human interference of Godavari in various cities through which it passes. Generally industries release various toxic pollutants in river water. Agricultural products like the pesticides also reach the rivers. Of course, human faeces are another major pollutant," Jisnani said.
Pooja Tiwari, co-project investigator, told TOI that so far the team had isolated samples from four major places along the river beginning from Brahmagiri (near Trimbakeshwar) in Nashik, at Paithan, at Nanded, Patancheru (near Hyderabad) and Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh. At the river's origin itself, the wineries as well as human activities like holy bathing in kunds at Brahmagiri pollute the river to a large extent. Later at Paithan, the textile industry area near Auranagbad famous for Paithani saris, chemical pollutants are added to the water. Down south in Patancheru a tributary, Manjira brings chemicals released from nickel plating industries and at Rajahmundry where Godavari is called as Dakshin Ganga pollutants are added due to pilgrimage activities.
"In the river ecosystem the organisms live in community and identifying the genes in these communities from soil as well as water samples through meta-genomic studies. At Brahmagiri, we found gram positive bacterium with antibiotic properties. We also isolated a gene for phenolhydoxylase which breaks phenol into catechol adding to the self purifying capacity of the river that otherwise destroys all beneficial bacteria like E-coli," Tiwari said.