Atif KhanBhabha Atomic Research Centre | BARC · Water & Steam Chemistry Division
Atif Khan
M.Sc. Biotechnology
Bacteriophages to control biofilm and biofouling in cooling water systems, Bacteriophages for therapy.
About
15
Publications
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Introduction
I am working on isolating environmental bacteriophages, especially of marine origin, and testing for their anti-biofilm activity. I have a collection of marine, freshwater, and pathogenic bacterial cultures for different experimental purposes. I have isolated bacteriophages against marine and pathogenic bacterial isolates that can be used for their therapeutic applications. I am also involved in characterizing the phage genome for the presence of novel metabolic genes and pathways.
Additional affiliations
August 2010 - May 2013
August 2016 - July 2019
July 2014 - May 2015
Position
- MSc Dissertee
Description
- Study of the modulatory effects of extracellular pH on activation of macrophages
Education
August 2015 - July 2016
August 2013 - May 2015
August 2010 - May 2013
Publications
Publications (15)
Iron scarcity poses a critical challenge for rhizospheric bacteria like Pseudomonas putida in the competitive rhizosphere. Despite its dependence on iron for essential functions such as root colonization, motility, and aromatic compound utilization, P. putida exhibits limited capability for heterologous siderophore utilization and primarily relies...
Biofilm formation presents a significant challenge in health care, food industries, water distribution systems, etc. In addition to their inherent resistance to various stresses and biocides, emerging resistance against widely used biocides like chlorine is a growing concern. The strong link between chlorine resistance and the development of antibi...
Xenobiotics are chemical compounds foreign to animals, like drugs or chemical pollutants released from anthropogenic sources. These compounds may exert harmful effects after contact with humans or other living organisms. However, microorganisms in the environment containing these compounds are found to be able to degrade these compounds using degra...
Biofouling is the deposition of plant, animals and microorganisms on any artificial surface submerged in seawater. The seawater cooling system of Madras Atomic Power Station faces serious operational problems with biofouling caused by microbial biofilms and macrofouling organisms such as barnacles and mussels. Apart from reducing heat transfer effi...
Bacteria are omnipresent in all the strata of the ecosystem, and lately, it is recognized that all the microbes can form biofilms. Biofilm is a confederation of microorganisms that are adhered to each other on to a solid support and are condensed inside a polysaccharide matrix called extracellular polymeric substances. Diverse microorganisms in the...
Full text link: currentprotocols.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/cpz1.395
Bacteriophages are bacteria-targeting viruses that may prove useful as therapeutic agents against multidrug-resistant bacterial strains. Though phage therapy is a century-old concept, there is very limited progress on its therapeutic application due to the rapid exp...
Bacteriophages are bacteria-specific viruses having great potential as a therapeutic agent against multidrug-resistant bacterial strains. Though "phage therapy" is a century-old concept, there is very limited progress on its therapeutic application due to the rapid expansion in antibiotics portfolios in the last few decades. However, the emergence...
Today, the entire world is battling to contain the spread of COVID-19. Massive efforts are being made to find a therapeutic solution in the shortest possible time. However, the research community is becoming increasingly concerned about taking a shortsighted strategy without contemplating the long-term consequences. For example, It has been reporte...
Bacterial biofilms are a major problem in cooling water systems and food processing industries. Biofilms are complex consortia of bacteria attached to a surface and surrounded by extracellular polymeric materials. In industrial cooling water systems, biofilms reduce heat transfer efficiency and induces corrosion (microbial induced corrosion). Bacte...
There have been consistent efforts to develop bioremediation technologies for radionu-clides for the treatment of mildly active radioactive wastes or radionuclides contaminated waters. Most of radionuclides of concern are heavy metals (U, Pu, Th, Sr, etc.), which cannot be degraded. These radionuclides can be precipitated, concentrated, or immobili...
Microbial fouling poses serious problems in cooling circuits, wherein they reduce heat transfer efficiency resulting in a significant pressure drop in the condensers as well as impairing the performance of associated ancillary systems. Predicting the type, rate, and extent of microfouling phenomena manifests the problem of biofouling in industrial...
Viruses are termed as a connecting link between living and non-living world. Being a non-living entity, they are harmless until they meet a suitable host. They have all the tools available with them to make their copies after coming in contact with their host. Due to their cumulative infectivity to almost every organism on this planet, new types of...
For over a century, chemical control of pests is a common practice in agriculture. The average reduction in global crop loss due to use of pesticides is around ∼39%. The postharvest losses and quality decline caused by storage pests are major problems in a subtropical country like India. So, the farmers have relied heavily on the use of chemical pe...
Industrial revolution has started a couple of centuries ago, that was the time when all the natural resources were available in their original form. When industries started flourishing, man has increased the exploitation of the natural resources. This has resulted in generation of huge volumes of waste in the form of chemical pollutants (xenobiotic...
Questions
Questions (8)
I have isolated Acidothiobacillus thiooxidans from environmental rust samples using ATCC 9K media. The pH of 9K media varies between 2.5-3.0, making a highly acidic environment for bacteria to grow. I want to isolate phages against this bacteria, but phages will not be able to tolerate a pH of 2.5-3.0. I tried growing the bacteria on Luria Agar, but it didn't grow due to pH variation.
What should be the media combination or other conditions that can make phages infect the host without compromising its growth?
I have isolated bacteriophages from river water and it is showing complete lysis when it is spotted on the lawn of bacterial host isolated from the same water sample. But, when plaque assay is performed for the same phage and host, it is not showing any plaque.
The same problem is coming when I inoculate overnight grown pure culture in culture broth containing phages, no phage population was recovered.
Suggest the solution or any change in protocol or any special treatment.
