Isolation and Identification of Pathogenic Bacteria from Brackish Waters of Chilika Lagoon, Odisha, India for Pharmaceutical Use

Aims: The present investigation was undertaken in order to isolate bacteria from eighteen different water samples collected from three different sectors of 'Chilika' lagoon of India and to study the resistance against ten different antibiotics viz., norfloxacin, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, neomycin, nalidixic acid, ofloxacin, chloramphenicol, nitrofurantoin, streptomycin and amoxicillin as well as their serological implications. Methodology and Results: Four different pathogenic bacteria species viz., Shigella dysenteriae, Streptococcus lactis, Bacillus cereus and Klebsiella pneumoniae were isolated which showed a wide range of sensitivity to norfloxacin, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin and nitrofurantoin. S. dysenteriae was sensitive to streptomycin where as other isolates were found to be resistant. Agarose gel electrophoresis failed to reveal plasmid DNA band indicating that the observed resistance was perhaps encoded by nucleotide sequences harboured on the chromosomal DNA. Bacterial isolates were used as antigen for the production of polyclonal antibodies in rabbits. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: All the isolates exhibited strong antigenic character with specific serological relationship which can be implicated towards development of novel and pharmaceutically effective antibacterial products.