Publications by authors named "Chikindas M"

The human body can be viewed as a combination of ecological niches inhabited by trillions of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, all united by the microbiota concept. Human health largely depends on the nature of these relationships and how they are built and maintained. However, personal hygiene practices have historically been focused on the wholesale elimination of pathogens and "hygiene-challenging microorganisms" without considering the collateral damage to beneficial and commensal species.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates hantaviruses in bats, specifically focusing on common noctules and other bat species from Rostov Bat Rehabilitation Center in Russia.
  • Hantaviruses were detected in 4.94% of blood samples and 1.1% of fecal samples from common noctules, suggesting these bats can harbor these viruses.
  • Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the detected viruses are closely related to Loanvirus brunaense, previously identified in Central European bats, highlighting the potential for these viruses to be species-specific and geographically widespread.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Phytogenic blends (PBs) consist of various bioactive plant-derived compounds that are used as growth promoters for farm animals. Feed additives based on PBs have beneficial effects on farm animals' production performance, health, and overall well-being, as well as positive modulating effects on gut microbiota. In this study, we used a validated in vitro cecal chicken alimentary tract model (CALIMERO-2) to evaluate the effects of a PB (a mix of components found in rosemary, cinnamon, curcuma, oregano oil, and red pepper), alone or in combination with casein (control), on poultry cecal microbiota.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The use of microorganisms as beneficial crops for human and animal health has been studied for decades, and these microorganisms have been in practical use for quite some time. Nowadays, in addition to well-known examples of beneficial properties of lactic acid bacteria, bifidobacteria, selected Bacillus spp., and yeasts, there are several other bacteria considered next-generation probiotics that have been proposed to improve host health.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study aims to evaluate the antibacterial activity of Lactobacillus acidophilus, alone and in combination with ciprofloxacin, against otitis media-associated bacteria. L. acidophilus cells were isolated from Vitalactic B (VB), a commercially available probiotic product containing two lactobacilli species, L.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Bats are natural reservoirs for many emerging viral diseases. That is why their virome is widely studied. But at the same time, studies of their bacterial gut microbiota are limited, creating a degree of uncertainty about the role of bats in global microbial ecology.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The role of bats in the global microbial ecology no doubt is significant due to their unique immune responses, ability to fly, and long lifespan, all contributing to pathogen spread. Some of these animals hibernate during winter, which results in the altering of their physiology. However, gut microbiota shifts during hibernation is little studied.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ipsum vinum est potestas et possession (wine itself is power and possession). Wine is a complex system that triggers multisensory cognitive stimuli. Wine and its consumption are thoroughly intertwined with the development of human society.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pulque is a traditional Mexican non-distilled alcoholic beverage to which several beneficial functions are attributed, mainly associated with gastrointestinal health, which can be explained by the presence of probiotic bacteria in its microbiota. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate the safety, probiotic activity, and functional characteristics of seven strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from pulque using the probiotic strain NCFM as control. The LAB isolates were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing and MALDI Biotyper MS as belonging to three different genera and species: , and .

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: It is known that the gut microbiome of a healthy person affects the process of COVID-19 after getting infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is also believed that colchicine can alleviate the severity of COVID-19.

Objective: Current investigations aimed to evaluate the associations between the baseline gut microbiota composition of healthy and Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) - carrier Armenian men populations, and the severity of the COVID-19 disease after their infection with the SARS-CoV-2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

is an important vaginosis causative agent, affecting several women worldwide each year. This study reports on two strains of lactic acid bacteria ( CRL35 and ST88Ch) expressing bacteriocin-like inhibitor substances (BLIS) active against 1281. Both strains were γ-hemolytic and not affected by numerous antibiotics, contraceptives, and commercial drugs, suggesting safety for human use.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The properties of intestinal bacteria/probiotics, such as cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH), auto-aggregation, and biofilm formation ability, play an important role in shaping the relationship between the bacteria and the host. The current study aimed to investigate the cell surface properties of fish intestinal bacteria and probiotics. Microbial adhesion to hydrocarbons was tested according to Kos and coauthors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A study was conducted to screen for CoVs in the insectivorous bat population of the Fore-Caucasus, yielding a lower detection rate of 3.33% based on qPCR results, indicating potential regional variability in prevalence.
  • While BetaCoVs were found in the metagenomic NGS data, a deeper investigation is needed due to low RNA concentrations that hinder detailed characterization, suggesting future research should focus on enhanced metagenomic analysis for better insights.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The ecological state of Lake Sevan, the largest drinking water reservoir for the South Caucasus, formed under the influence of climatic and social changes. This study assesses the bacteriological quality of water in the rivers of the Lake Sevan basin and tetracycline-resistant bacteria isolated from fish and people living near the rivers of the Lake Sevan basin in Armenia in autumn 2019 and spring 2020. No differences have been shown for the tetracycline resistance of the investigated E.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

COVID-19 pandemic is currently causing high mortality and economic crisis, and several drugs-based therapeutic strategies and vaccines are unfortunately used with little efficiency. Therefore, here is an urgent need to provide additives therapies that prevent or improve symptoms in populations infected by SARS-CoV-2 variants. This review aimed to examine relevant scientific information related to SARS-CoV-2 and host antiviral immunity, as well the possible role of probiotics in gut-lung cross talk pathways to promote lung immune response to COVID-19 infection.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This review's objective was to critically revisit various research approaches for studies on the application of beneficial organisms and bacteriocins as effective biopreservatives in the food industry. There are a substantial number of research papers reporting newly isolated bacterial strains from fermented food products and their application as potential probiotics, including partial characterization of bacteriocins produced by these microorganisms. Most of these studies follow scientific community-accepted standard procedures and propose various applications of the studied strains and bacteriocins as potential biopreservatives for the food industry.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Probiotics are known for their beneficial effects on poultry health and wellbeing. One promising strategy for discovering probiotics is selecting strains from the microbiota of healthy chickens and subsequent screening for potential biological activity. In this study, we focused on three probiotic strains isolated from the gastrointestinal tract of chickens bred in different housing types.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The modern paradigm assumes that interspecies communication of microorganisms occurs through precise regulatory mechanisms. In particular, antagonism between bacteria or bacteria and fungi can be achieved by direct destruction of the targeted cells through the regulated production of antimicrobial metabolites or by controlling their adaptive mechanisms, such as the formation of biofilms. The quorum-quenching phenomenon provides such a countermeasure strategy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The gut microbiota plays a significant role in human health; however, the complex relationship between gut microbial communities and host health is still to be thoroughly studied and understood. Microbes in the distal gut contribute to host health through the biosynthesis of vitamins and essential amino acids and the generation of important metabolic by-products from dietary components that are left undigested by the small intestine. Aged citrus peel (Chenpi) is used in traditional Chinese medicine to lower cholesterol, promote weight loss and treat various gastrointestinal symptoms.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The initial screening of probiotic strains in vitro, carried out by different methods, may omit strains that are promising from the point of view of biotechnology or, conversely, mark as promising strains those that will lose activity when transferred in vivo. It is known that the release of metabolites by probiotic bacteria, in particular, lactobacilli, is highly dependent on the biochemical context. In this work, we modified the method that was previously successfully used for the selection of probiotics for poultry, based on their antioxidant and DNA-protective properties.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The antimutagenic activity of probiotic strains has been reported over several decades of studying the effects of probiotics. However, this activity is rarely considered an important criterion when choosing strains to produce probiotic preparations and functional food. Meanwhile, the association of antimutagenic activity with the prevention of oncological diseases, as well as with a decrease in the spread of resistant forms in the microbiota, indicates its importance for the selection of probiotics.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

spp., the nosocomial pathogen, forms strong biofilms and is resistant to numerous antibiotics, causing persistent infections. This study investigates the antibacterial and anti-biofilm activity of polymyxin E alone and in combination with the cell-free supernatants (CFS) of the tested probiotic bacilli, KATMIRA1933 and B-1895 against the selected spp.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Bats are potential natural reservoirs for emerging viruses, causing deadly human diseases, such as COVID-19, MERS, SARS, Nipah, Hendra, and Ebola infections. The fundamental mechanisms by which bats are considered "living bioreactors" for emerging viruses are not fully understood. Some studies suggest that tolerance to viruses is linked to suppressing antiviral immune and inflammatory responses due to DNA damage by energy generated to fly.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Representatives of the genus are multifunctional microorganisms with a broad range of applications in both traditional fermentation and modern biotechnological processes. spp. has several beneficial properties.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF