@article {46005,
	title = {Metagenomic insights to understand transient influence of Yamuna River on taxonomic and functional aspects of bacterial and archaeal communities of River Ganges},
	journal = {Science of the Total Environment},
	volume = {674},
	year = {2019},
	month = {JUL},
	pages = {288-299},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {<p>River confluences are interesting ecosystems to investigate for their microbial community structure and functional potentials. River Ganges is one of the most important and holy river of India with great mythological history and religious significance. The Yamuna River meets Ganges at the Prayagraj (formerly known as Allahabad), India to form a unique confluence. The influence of Yamuna River on taxonomic and functional aspects of microbiome at this confluence and its downstream, remains unexplored. To unveil this dearth, whole metagenome sequencing of the microbial (bacterial and archaeal) community from the sediment samples of December 2017 sampling expedition was executed using high throughput MinION technology. Results revealed differences in the relative abundance of bacterial and archaeal communities across the confluence. Grouped by the confluence, a higher abundance of Proteobacteria and lower abundance of Bacteroidetes and Firnacutes was observed for Yamuna River (G15Y) and at immediate downstream of confluence of Ganges (G15DS), as compared to the upstream, confluence, and farther downstream of confluence. A similar trend was observed for archaeal communities with a higher abundance of Euryarchaeoto in G15Y and G15DS, indicating Yamuna River{\textquoteright}s influence. Functional gene(s) analysis revealed the influence of Yamuna River on xenobiotic degradation, resistance to toxic compounds, and antibiotic resistance interceded by the autochthonous microbes at the confluence and succeeding downstream locations. Overall, similar taxonomic and functional profiles of microbial communities before confluence (upstream of Ganges) and farther downstream of confluence, suggested a transient influence of Yamuna River. Our study is significant since it may be foundational basis to understand impact of Yamuna River and also rare event of mass bathing on the microbiome of River Ganges. Further investigation would be required to understand, the underlying cause behind the restoration of microbial profiles post-confluence farther zone, to unravel the rejuvenation aspects of this unique ecosystem. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.A. All rights reserved.</p>},
	keywords = {Confluence zone, Ganges, Metagenomics, Transient influence, Yamuna},
	issn = {0048-9697},
	doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.166},
	author = {Samson, Rachel and Shah, Manan and Yadav, Rakeshkumar and Sarode, Priyanka and Rajput, Vinay and Dastager, Syed G. and Dharne, Mahesh S. and Khairnar, Krishna}
}
@article {49707,
	title = {Characterization of a novel Tequatrovirus phage from pristine stretch of the Ganges River, India, in reducing bacterial load from sewage water},
	journal = {Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering},
	volume = {13},
	year = {2025},
	month = {JUN},
	pages = {116315},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {<p>
	Effective treatment of wastewater (WW) and its reuse is necessary to meet certain sustainable development goals and a circular economy. Escherichia coli is one of the primary contaminants in the WW, and its extra-intestinal occurrence poses a considerable threat under one health. This study is the first report of a novel broadspectrum phage (\&amp; fcy;ERS-1) isolated from a pristine stretch of the Ganges River in the biocontrol of E. coli, resistant to 3rd-and 4th generation cephalosporins and aztreonam. This is the first report of a phage from the Tequatrovirus genus to infect P. aeruginosa. The \&amp; fcy;ERS-1 could reduce the abundance of E. coli cells by 8.22 log10 CFU/mL \&lt;= 24 hrs. Additionally, phi ERS-1 disrupted the biofilm of E. coli with a reduction of 3.88 log10 CFU/mL. Further, phi ERS-1 could inhibit biofilm by multiple strains of E. coli (ATCC 8739, 25922, 43888) and multiple generaincluding E. coli ATCC 8739, Shigella boydii ATCC 9207, P. aeruginosa (ATCC 9027). The phage phi ERS-1 reduced bacterial counts in raw WW by 2 log10 CFU/mL and 4 log10 CFU/mL reduction in coliform-enriched WW in \&lt;= 24 hours. Overall, this study suggests that phi ERS-1 could be used as an effective alternative to be combined with other treatments for improving the quality of WW disposal and environmental health by reducing the bacterial load.</p>
},
	keywords = {Antibiofouling, Biofilm, Coliform, Ganges, Green approach, Phages, wastewater},
	issn = {2213-2929},
	doi = {10.1016/j.jece.2025.116315},
	author = {Samson, Rachel and Pawar, Ameya and Khairnar, Krishna and Dharne, Mahesh}
}
