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| Home - About us - Divisions - Dairy Microbiology
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Dairy microbiology division is currently engaged in
handling research and teaching activities in the field of
dairy microbiology including process biotechnology.
Broadly, the research work of the division covers the
areas related to starter cultures and fermented milk
products, quality assurance and public health,
biopreservative, xenobiotic residues in milk and milk
products, molecular biology and genetic engineering,
ultra structure of dairy organisms/ products and microbial
bioconversion.
The division has played a leading role in establishing
microbiological quality standards for milk and milk
products. Hygienic standards have been developed for
production and processing of milk. Rapid platform tests
have been standardized to suit the Indian conditions.
Other quality control tests developed by the division
include test for detection of antibiotics in milk,
rapid detection of coliforms, PCR methods for detection
of high risk pathogens like E. coli 0157:H7,
L. monocytogenes and Salmonella. Apart from
this, PCR based identification of lactic acid bacteria
is also being carried out. ‘National Collection of Dairy
Cultures’ has been further strengthened and its culture
collection has presently a repository of around 400
cultures.
The faculty is involved in imparting teaching and
guidance for both undergraduate and postgraduate
programmes. Besides, the Division offers contractual and
consultancy services such as supply of starter cultures,
freeze-drying of cultures, microbiological analysis of
dairy foods & drinking water, and organization of
specialized short term trainings covering basic & applied
areas of dairy microbiology.
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| Research Activities and
Achievements |
Molecular Biology Unit: Dr Sunita Grover , Dr. V K
Batish, Mr. Inder Kumar,T-5
Molecular Biology Unit (MBU) was created during early 1990s
as a centre for carrying out research and teaching activities
related to Process Biotechnology. The unit has been equipped
and established with the financial inputs received from UNDP/
FAO, World Bank (NARP), ICAR, Ministry of Food Processing
Industries and Department of Biotechnology. Apart from
carrying out basic and applied research, the unit is
extensively involved in imparting specialized training in
modern molecular biology techniques such as molecular
cloning, expression & characterization of genes of interest
in E. coli, yeast; PCR/ RT-PCR techniques; DNA and protein
separation & purification, restriction mapping etc. The
research interests of the molecular biology group are PCR
based detection of pathogens; expression of heterologous
proteins like buffalo chymosin, lactoferrin and phytase;
food-grade vectors; genotypic characterization of probiotic
candidates. Some of the achievements include: PCR and Real
Time PCR based diagnostic kits for E. coli 0157:H7, L.
monocytogenes and Salmonella spp.; recombinant buffalo
chymosin & human lactoferrin; and antifungal bacteriocins.
These technologies can be accessed through the consultancy
cell of the institute. The current focus is on development of
probiotics for their application as biotherapeutic agents by
studying their functional properties through gene expression,
in in vitro cell cultures and animal models.
National Collection of Dairy Cultures (NCDC): Dr.
Rameshwar Singh and Dr Suraji Mandal
The NCDC has been established in the Division of Dairy
Microbiology for the last 40 years. The cultures were
initially maintained on solid media by periodic sub
culturing. However, freeze drying was introduced in 1964 for
long term preservation of cultures. A total of 102 cultures
were held at NCDC in 1962 and the culture repository grew
upto >500 in 2010. The information on cultures held in the
NCDC is provided through publication of Strain Catalogue.
The NCDC stock includes strains of bacteria, yeasts and
moulds of general interest to education, research and
industrial importance.
The main interest of the collection lies in the lactic acid
bacteria from dairy sources. In addition to individual
strain cultures,
the NCDC also holds mixed strains (traditional) and defined
strain formulated cultures for making different varieties of
cheese and fermented milks.
The NCDC is Coordinating Centre for the Scheme on Dairy
Microbes. The NCDC invites deposit of new strains from
scientists and institutions and also distributes the freeze
dried cultures to stakeholders. The NCDC also organizes
specialized training programs and workshops to provide know
how on maintenance, preservation and propagation of dairy
starters as well as other related aspects. The NCDC is an
affiliate member of the World Federation for Cultures
Collection since 1996 (home page http://wfcc.info/) and is
also registered with the ‘World Data Centre on
Micro-organisms’ (Reg. No. WDCM775). It has also been listed
in the World Directory of Culture Collections published by
WDCM, Japan. The World Directory of Culture Collection is
also available online at the home page of WDCM
(http:/wdcm.nig.ac.jp) and WFCC.
Fermented dairy products (FDP) and bio-active
peptides: Dr. Shilpa Vij
This cell is mainly engaged in the research and development
of Indian and Western fermented milk products and
bio-processing of whey into value added products.
Processes have been standardized for various milk and whey
based products such as fruit flavored yoghurts,
acidophilus milk and Kefir.
DVI cultures have been developed for acidophilus milk,
accelerated cheese ripening and acido-whey.
FDP laboratory is also engaged in production of
antimicrobial bioactive peptides from milk whey & casein,
imparts training to entrepreneurs as well as provides
consultancy to dairy industries through Consultancy Cell of
the Institute.
Microbial enzymes and biopreservative: Dr. R.K.
Malik
Lactic Acid Bacteria synthesize a variety of inhibitory
compounds, which prevent the development of undesirable
bacteria in the fermented foods. Among all the antibacterial
substances, Bacteriocins offer the best incentive for the
preservation and prevention of food spoilage by undesirable
microorganisms and are thus unique with respect to their
role in the biopreservation of foods. Bacteriocins are
small, single or complex proteins or proteinaceous
substances. The Bacteriocins with a wide inhibitory
spectrum are interesting because of their potential to
control the growth of spoilage and pathogenic flora.
Ultra structure of dairy microorganisms: Dr. S.K.
Tomer
Electron Microscopy Centre of the Division has been
established as a central facility for carrying out research
in the advanced area of ultra structure of microorganisms
and microstructure of dairy foods. It is a modernized
facility with a scanning & transmission electron microscope
and allied facilities.
The facility is also extended to ICAR Institutes located at
Karnal and other parts of the country.
Synbiotic Foods/Bio-remediation of Xenobiotic Residues: Dr Chand Ram
This cell has been recently identified as one of the
priority areas in the Division and is currently involved in
developing newer tools and perfecting existing analytical
techniques for the rapid detection of common xenobiotic
residues such as antibiotics, pesticides and mycotoxins
including aflatoxins in milk and milk products. Since,
residual antibiotics and mycotoxins in dairy products
constitute serious health and technological problems during
the processing of milk and milk products. Their rapid
detection is an extremely important issue to safeguard
health of the consumers.
The cell is actively involved in the identification and
characterization of novel bioactive peptides derived
through starter mediated fermentations from buffalo and cow
milk for their possible application in value added health
foods.
Direct-fed microbials for humans and ruminants:
Dr. A.K. Puniya
The digestive efficiency of livestock is targeted by
administering the direct-fed microbials (DFM), preferably
of rumen origin. DFM, the animal probiotics strategically
increase the numbers of beneficial bacteria in the rumen,
concomitantly stimulating the production of desired
fermentation end products. The anaerobic fungi, an emerging
class of DFM, play an active role in improved fibre
digestion, dry matter intake, body weight gains/ growth
rate and milk production. The work on human probiotics
(lactobacilli) is also in progress for their possible role
in controlling postprandial hyperglycemia
and their potential in biotransformation of soy
isoflavones. This lab also supplies biofertilizers to the
farmers for leguminous fodder crops production.
Safety aspects of dairy food chain: Dr. Naresh
Kumar and Mr. Raghu, H.V
Dairy industry especially in developing countries
is looking forward for new rapid techniques for detection of
microbial/non – microbial contaminants and other quality
indicators of milk and milk products as per international
legal requirements. The current test methods employed for
checking the microbial and non – microbial quality of milk
at various stages are time consuming, costly and with poor
reliability. Recent advances in technology make detection
and identification faster, more convenient, more sensitive,
and more specific than conventional assays. These new
methods include miniaturized biochemical kits, antibody- and
DNA-based tests, and assays that are modifications of
conventional tests to speed up analysis. These methods are
with certain inherent limitations as they can not be
adopted in small scale industries or dairy farms due to
heavy cost of the equipments involved in testing and poor
reproducibility. The development of biosensor based
analytical system can be of immense use in tracking various
microbial groups like coliforms, Enterococci, Proteus spp E.
coli, Staph aureus, Helicobacter pylori, Campylobacter spp)
and non microbial contaminants which includes aflatoxins,
pesticides, antibiotics etc in processed dairy foods with
in 6-8 hours of processing time .Currently projects on
development of biosensor based analytical system for
tracking contaminants in dairy food chain are in
progress. |
| Ongoing
projects (institute and externally funded) |
- Development of Technology for Production of Synbiotic
Fermented Foods
- Development of food grade expression vector
- Biodiversity of starter cultures
- Bioactive peptides from casein and whey proteins
- Bacteriocin based formulations against mastitis
- Antimicrobial packaging
- Development of biosensors and micro-techniques for
analysis of pesticide residues, aflatoxin, heavy metals and
bacterial contamination in milk
- Protection of intestinal epithelial cells from
camptothecin – induced cytotoxicity with bioactive peptides
obtained from milk fermented with a probiotic lactobacillus
- Microstructure of LAB and dairy foods
- Production of Vit B12 by probiotic propionibacteria
- Development of direct-fed rumen fungal inoculants
- Methane mitigation from ruminants
- Network programme on veterinary type culture for dairy
and rumen microorganisms
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| Important
research findings |
- PCR kits for E. coli 0157:H7, L
.monocytogenes
- ‘NDRI method’ for extraction of DNA from milk and
milk products
- Buffalo chymosin expressed in Pichia pastoris
and applied in preparation of Mozzarella cheese –
1st recombinant protein at NDRI
- Food grade expression host vector system developed
- Human Lactoferrin expressed in Saccharomyces
cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris for production of
recombinant human lactoferrin for food and pharmaceutical
purposes
- Development of acido-whey – a nourishing therapeutic
beverage (Patented)
- Probiotic yeast and Lb. sporogenes based
products
- Promising strains of probiotic lactobacilli with
strong probiotic attributes and colonization potential
have been characterized
- PCR assays based on BSH and MBP as probiotic markers
developed for mass screening of indigenous probiotic
lactobacilli/ bifidobacetria
- A cost effective test kit based on spores as a
biosensor for detection of antibiotic residues in milk at
farm level has been developed
- Development of iodometric based analytical process
for specific detection of ?-lactam group of
antibiotics
- HACCP module developed for assessing the hygienic
status of cattle yard
- Bioactive peptide effective against hypertension has
been purified and evaluated for bioactive function
- A bacteriocin based food grade biopreservative for
biopreservation of dairy foods has been developed
- The biopreservative formulation using spray dried
skim milk fermentate, Sodium Citrate and Potassium
Sorbate has been found to extend the shelf life of some
of the indigenous dairy products like Paneer and
Khoa by 40-50 and >30 days respectively
- Developed defined strain starters for making
fermented milks i.e. Dahi, yoghurt, buttermilk and
lassi
- Developed 8 new strains (fast setting) for use as
monoculture for preparation of Dahi on Industrial scale
- Developed microdrying as an alternative technique for
preservation of bacterial cultures
- Techno textural characterization of starter cultures
of shrikhand and development of defined strain starter
for industrial application
- Development of duplex real time PCR SYBR Green I
assays for simultaneous detection of E. coli
O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes as well as L.
monocytogenes and S. enteritidis
- Uniplex and duplex RT-PCR PCR assays based on
molecular beacons for detection of Ec, Lm and Salmonella
have been standardized
- Potential tannin degraders and anaerobic rumen fungal
strains have been isolated from the gut/ faeces of
cattle, sheep and goats
- Technology for making probiotic milk chocolate with
micro-encapsulated lactobacilli developed
- Bacteriocin based food grade biopreservative
developed for enhancing shelf life of dairy products
- Process for the fermented whey oral-rehydration
solution has been developed to control diarrhea in
vitro and in vivo
- Concentrated inoculum has been formulated for the
preparation of various fermented dairy products under
domestic and market conditions
- A license has been granted to M/s Milan Dairy Foods
Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi for the manufacturing of ‘Acidowhey
– soft drink’ by NRDC, New Delhi as per terms and
conditions of NDRI/NRDC in July, 2007
- Technology for detection of antibiotic residues in
milk using bacterial spore as biosensor was licensed to
M/S Neugen Diagnostic India Pvt. Ltd Secunderabad with
non- exclusive license fee of Rs 2.5 0 lakhs and a
royalty of 2.0 % and validity of license for period of 7
years
- Antifungal substances production by Lactobacillus
cultures
- Application of milk protein and bioactive peptide for
preservation of paneer
- Production of antimicrobial casein fermentate of
lactobacillus
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| Collaborations |
| Division has developed very good
national and international scientific contacts through its
faculty. |
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| Technologies and patents |
- Granted: acido-whey
- Technology on Antibiotic transferred to M/s Neugen
Diagnostic Ltd., Secunderabad
- Patent on ‘Develoment o analytical process for
detection of antibiotic residues in milk using bacterial
spores as biosensor (Patent No. Reg. #
IPR/4.9.1/05074/2006)
- A kit for detection of B-lactam antibiotic group I milk
using bacterial spore as biosensor (Patent Reg. #
IPR/4.14.1/06073/del/2009)
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| Awards
and Recognitions |
Faculty:
- Young Women Bio-scientist Award, 2000, Department of
Biotechnology, Govt. of India: Dr. Ms. Sunita Grover
- DBT Overseas Associateship, Department of
Biotechnology, Govt. of India: Dr. V.K. Batish 1987,
1997, Dr. S.K. Anand 2001, Dr. A.K. Mohanty, 2005
- UNU-Kirin Fellow: Dr. Ms. Sunita Grover
(2002-2003)
- JSPS Fellow: Dr. J. K. Kaushik (2000-2002)
- INSA-Royal Society Fellowship (2007): Dr AK
Puniya
- Vijayshree Award (IIFS): Dr. V. K. Batish, 2005
- Dr. K.K. Iya Award (Processing): Dr. S.K. Anand
(2002), Dr. A.K. Puniya (2006)
- Kautilya Gold Medal, 1999: Dr AK Puniya
- Best Teacher Award, NDRI (2004): Dr. S.K. Anand
- Prof. J.V. Bhat Memorial Award: Dr. Kishan Singh and
Dr AK Puniya, AMI, 2004; Dr. S.K. Anand, AFST, 2004
- Jawahar Lal Nehru Award (ICAR): Dr. J.K. Kaushik,
1999, Dr. U.K. Mukhopadhyay, 2001, Dr. A.K. Mohanty,
2005
- Aquaguard Young Scientist Award (Eureka Forbes
Institute of Environment) – 2004: Dr. A. K. Puniya
- Honorary DAAD Advisor, 2006: Dr. R.K.Malik
Students:
- DAAD Fellows: AK Puniya, 1992; C. Ganesh Kumar, 1996;
M. Sudhamani, 2002
- Young Scientist Award of AMI: Dr. AK Puniya, 1996;
Dr. P. Pattnaik, 2000
- Ritu Rana, 2002; Manvi Sharma, 2003; Ligimol, 2003
- Processing Group Gold Medal: Ruchi Kushal, 1998,
Manvi Sharma, 2000
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| Publications (last five years) |
| A number research papers, review
articles, book chapters have been published by the faculty
and students of the division in the journal of repute from
India and abroad. |
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| Professional Societies located in the
Division |
Association of Microbiologists
of India Unit, Karnal |
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| Teaching Activities |
| Courses
offered with syllabus (current) |
Ph.D.
DM-711: Microbial Diversity and Physiology (3+0)
DM-712: Advances in Microbial Genetics (3+0)
DM-721: Advances in Dairy and Food Microbiology (3+0)
DM-722: Mechanism of Microbial pathogenesis
(3+0)
DM-719: Seminar – I (0+1)
DM-729: Seminar – II (0+1)
M.Tech/ M.V.Sc./ M.Sc
DM-611: Microbial Morphology and Taxonomy (2+1)
DM-612: Microbial Physiology (2+1)
DM-613: Methods in Microbiology (2+2)
DM-614: Environmental Microbiology (2+1)
DM-615: Microbiology of Processed Dairy Foods (3+1)
DM-616: Application of Biotechnology in Dairy Industry
(2+1)
DM-621: Dairy Starter Cultures (2+1)
DM-622: Microbial Genetics (2+1)
DM-623: Microbial Quality and Safety in Dairy Industry
(2+2)
DM-624: Feed and Rumen Microbiology (2+1)
DM-625: Probiotics and Fermented Dairy Products (2+1)
DM-626: Microbial Fermentation and Technology (2+1)
DM-629: Seminar (0+1)
B.Tech
DM-111: Fundamentals of Microbiology (2+1)
DM-122:Introductory Dairy Microbiology (2+1)
DM-311: Starter Cultures and Fermented Mil k Products
(2+2)
DM-312: Quality and Safety Monitoring in Dairy Industry
(2+1)
BT-311: Dairy Biotechnology (2+1)
DM-323: Food and Industrial Microbiology
(2+1)
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| Ongoing
students’ research projects: |
| M.Sc., 12; Ph.D., 29 |
| Number of
Masters degrees awarded: |
| 348 |
| Number
of Doctoral degrees awarded: |
| 425 |
| Trainings |
| The division has organized a number
of training programmes for students of different
organizations/ institute and also for faculty in form of
summer/ winter schools. |
Top of the page |
| Faculty profile |
Dr. R. K. Malik |
Principal Scientist |
Dr.
Sunita Grover |
Principal Scientist
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Dr.
A.K. Puniya |
Principal Scientist |
Dr.
S.K. Tomar |
Senior Scientist |
Dr. Shilpa Vij |
Senior Scientist |
Dr. Naresh Kumar |
Senior Scientist |
Dr.Chand
Ram |
Senior Scientist |
Dr. Surajit Mandal |
Scientist |
Mr. Raghu H. V |
Scientist |
Top of the page |
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- Ultracentrifuge (Hitachi)
- High speed refrigerated centrifuge (Hitachi)
- Anaerobic glove box (Don Whitley)
- FPLC (Pharmacia)
- HPLC (Shimadzu)
- Real Time PCR machine (Cepheid)
- PCR machine (Eppendorf)
- Ultra low deep freezer (-85°C) (NB)
- Incubator shaker (NB)
- Fermenter (Applicon)
- Electroporation (BTX)
- Speed Vac system (Martin Christ)
- Charm system (Charm)
- Freeze drier
- Biosafety Cabinet (Labconco)
- MilliQ water purification system (Millipore)
- UV Spectrophotometer
- ELISA Reader
- Carbon dioxide incubator
- Gel Documentation system
- Cold room
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| Central facilities |
- Molecular Biology Lab (Support in microbial genetics/
Genetic Engineering)
- National Collection of Dairy Cultures (Cultures:
>400)
- Quality Assurance Lab (Analytical Activities/
Training)
- Electron Microscopy Centre (SEM: Hitachi; TEM: Jeol)
- Divisional Instrument Room
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| Consultancy service |
| The division provides consultancy
services on different aspects to the dairy and food
industries. |
| Any
other |
| A number of students of the
division are well placed in India and abroad on prestigious
position in industry and research. |
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