Disassembly of bundled F-actin and cellular remodeling via an interplay of Mical, cofilin, and F-actin crosslinkers.

Cellular form and function are controlled by the assembly and stability of actin cytoskeletal structures-but disassembling/pruning these structures is equally essential for the plasticity and remodeling that underlie behavioral adaptations. Importantly, the mechanisms of actin assembly have been well-defined-including that it is driven by actin's polymerization into filaments (F-actin) and then often bundling by crosslinking proteins into stable higher-order structures. In contrast, it remains less clear how these stable bundled F-actin structures are rapidly disassembled. We now uncover mechanisms that rapidly and extensively disassemble bundled F-actin. Using biochemical, structural, and imaging assays with purified proteins, we show that F-actin bundled with one of the most prominent crosslinkers, fascin, is extensively disassembled by Mical, the F-actin disassembly enzyme. Furthermore, the product of this Mical effect, Mical-oxidized actin, is poorly bundled by fascin, thereby further amplifying Mical's disassembly effects on bundled F-actin. Moreover, another critical F-actin regulator, cofilin, also affects fascin-bundled filaments, but we find herein that it synergizes with Mical to dramatically amplify its disassembly of bundled F-actin compared to the sum of their individual effects. Genetic and high-resolution cellular assays reveal that Mical also counteracts crosslinking proteins/bundled F-actin in vivo to control cellular extension, axon guidance, and Semaphorin/Plexin cell-cell repulsion. Yet, our results also support the idea that fascin-bundling serves to dampen Mical's F-actin disassembly in vitro and in vivo-and that physiologically relevant cellular remodeling requires a fine-tuned interplay between the factors that build bundled F-actin networks and those that disassemble them.

Probiotics - the versatile functional food ingredients.

Probiotics are live microbes which when administered in adequate amounts as functional food ingredients confer a health benefit on the host. Their versatility is in terms of their usage which ranges from the humans to the ruminants, pigs and poultry, and also in aquaculture practices. In this review, the microorganisms frequently used as probiotics in human and animal welfare has been described, and also highlighted are the necessary criteria required to be fulfilled for their use in humans on the one hand and on the other as microbial feed additives in animal husbandry. Further elaborated in this article are the sources from where probiotics can be derived, the possible mechanisms by which they act, and their future potential role as antioxidants is also discussed.

Three-phase succession of autochthonous lactic acid bacteria to reach a stable ecosystem within 7 days of natural bamboo shoot fermentation as revealed by different molecular approaches.

Microbial community structure and population dynamics during spontaneous bamboo shoot fermentation for production of 'soidon' (indigenous fermented food) in North-east India were studied using cultivation-dependent and cultivation-independent molecular approaches. Cultivation-dependent analyses (PCR-amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis and rRNA gene sequencing) and cultivation-independent analyses (PCR-DGGE, qPCR and Illumina amplicon sequencing) were conducted on the time series samples collected from three independent indigenous soidon fermentation batches. The current findings revealed three-phase succession of autochthonous lactic acid bacteria to attain a stable ecosystem within 7 days natural fermentation of bamboo shoots. Weissella spp. (Weissella cibaria, uncultured Weissella ghanensis) and Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris predominated the early phase (1-2 days) which was joined by Leuconostoc citreum during the mid-phase (3 days), while Lactobacillus brevis and Lactobacillus plantarum emerged and became dominant in the late phase (5-7 days) with concurrent disappearance of W. cibaria and L. lactis subsp. cremoris. Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and uncultured Lactobacillus acetotolerans were predominantly present throughout the fermentation with no visible dynamics. The above identified dominant bacterial species along with their dynamics can be effectively utilized for designing a starter culture for industrialization of soidon production. Our results showed that a more realistic view on the microbial ecology of soidon fermentation could be obtained by cultivation-dependent studies complemented with cultivation-independent molecular approaches. Moreover, the critical issues to be considered for reducing methodological biases while studying the microbial ecology of traditional food fermentation were also highlighted with this soidon fermentation model.

The combinatorial guidance activities of draxin and Tsukushi are essential for forebrain commissure formation.

We have shown that draxin is a repulsive axon guidance molecule for a variety of neuron classes and that genetic deletion of draxin in mice results in the absence of all forebrain commissures. Moreover, we also identified a secreted molecule, Tsukushi (TSK), that belongs to the small leucine-rich proteoglycan family (SLRP) and inhibits signaling molecules, such as BMP and Wnt. TSK knockout mice show malformation of the corpus callosum (CC) and agenesis of the anterior commissure (AC), suggesting the importance of TSK function in forebrain commissure formation. There is a possibility that the combined function of these two proteins is essential for the formation of these commissures. In this study, we investigate this possibility by generating draxin/TSK doubly heterozygous mice and comparing their forebrain commissure phenotypes with those of singly heterozygous mice. We found that, although draxin and TSK did not interact directly, their genetic interaction was evident from the significantly higher prevalence of CC malformation and agenesis of the AC in the draxin/TSK doubly heterozygous mice. Importantly, in this study, we demonstrated a new function of TSK in guiding anterior olfactory neuronal (AON) and cortical axons. TSK bound to and provided growth inhibitory signals dose-dependently to AON and cortical axons in outgrowth assay. TSK also induced growth cone collapse when applied acutely to these cultured neurons. Furthermore, TSK and draxin had additive effects in inhibiting cortical and AON neurite outgrowth. Thus, based on a combination of genetic analyses and in vitro experiments, we propose that the combined guidance activities of draxin and TSK regulate forebrain commissure formation.

Reliable differentiation of Meyerozyma guilliermondii from Meyerozyma caribbica by internal transcribed spacer restriction fingerprinting.

BACKGROUND: Meyerozyma guilliermondii (anamorph Candida guilliermondii) and Meyerozyma caribbica (anamorph Candida fermentati) are closely related species of the genetically heterogenous M. guilliermondii complex. Conventional phenotypic methods frequently misidentify the species within this complex and also with other species of the Saccharomycotina CTG clade. Even the long-established sequencing of large subunit (LSU) rRNA gene remains ambiguous. We also faced similar problem during identification of yeast isolates of M. guilliermondii complex from indigenous bamboo shoot fermentation in North East India. There is a need for development of reliable and accurate identification methods for these closely related species because of their increasing importance as emerging infectious yeasts and associated biotechnological attributes. RESULTS: We targeted the highly variable internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) and identified seven restriction enzymes through in silico analysis for differentiating M. guilliermondii from M. caribbica. Fifty five isolates of M. guilliermondii complex which could not be delineated into species-specific taxonomic ranks by API 20 C AUX and LSU rRNA gene D1/D2 sequencing were subjected to ITS-restriction fragment length polymorphism (ITS-RFLP) analysis. TaqI ITS-RFLP distinctly differentiated the isolates into M. guilliermondii (47 isolates) and M. caribbica (08 isolates) with reproducible species-specific patterns similar to the in silico prediction. The reliability of this method was validated by ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 sequencing, mitochondrial DNA RFLP and electrophoretic karyotyping. CONCLUSIONS: We herein described a reliable ITS-RFLP method for distinct differentiation of frequently misidentified M. guilliermondii from M. caribbica. Even though in silico analysis differentiated other closely related species of M. guilliermondii complex from the above two species, it is yet to be confirmed by in vitro analysis using reference strains. This method can be used as a reliable tool for rapid and accurate identification of closely related species of M. guilliermondii complex and for differentiating emerging infectious yeasts of the Saccharomycotina CTG clade.

Novel molecular alterations in the ORF 2 capsid gene of hepatitis E virus in patients with acute liver failure in North India.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is evolving as a major global threat to public health, including in developed countries. We partially sequenced the ORF 2 capsid protein genes of HEV genomes from patients with acute liver failure, including pregnant women in the northern part of India. Five unique synonymous substitutions and one non-synonymous substitution, along with a novel mutation, P259S, in the capsid gene, were identified that might be associated with the poor outcome in the patients. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the isolates belonged to genotype 1 with subtype 1a. The significance of these findings for disease pathogenicity needs to be investigated further.

Biochemical evaluation of triploid progenies of diploid × tetraploid breeding populations of Camellia for genotypes rich in catechin and caffeine.

To verify the quality of triploid varieties of Camellia tea species at the secondary metabolite level, we tested caffeine and catechin profiles of 97 F(1) segregating progenies in two breeding populations with a common tetraploid parent and diploid parents of two geographic and varietal origins. Catechin and caffeine levels of the triploid progenies were quantified and compared against their diploid parent. Some of the progenies showed better performance than their diploid parent. Most of the progenies of the diploid C. sinensis × tetraploid cross showed heterosis for caffeine and EGCG. Progenies of the C. assamica subsp. lasiocalyx × tetraploid cross showed heterosis for +C, EC, EGC, and TC. The genomic contributions of the diploid parent seem to be the main factor in the variation between the two populations. Our studies showed quantitative enhancement of some of the quality-related parameters in tea, providing a platform to refocus on this classical breeding approach for developing quality cultivars in tea.

Draxin inhibits axonal outgrowth through the netrin receptor DCC.

Draxin, a recently identified axon guidance protein, is essential for the formation of forebrain commissures, and can mediate repulsion of netrin-stimulated spinal commissural axons. Here, we report that draxin binds multiple netrin receptors: DCC (deleted in colorectal cancer), Neogenin, UNC5s (H1, H2, H3), and DSCAM (Down's syndrome cell adhesion molecule). Since draxin and Dcc knockouts showed similar phenotype in forebrain commissures formation, we show here the functional importance of draxin/DCC interaction. Draxin interacts with subnanomolar affinity to the netrin receptor DCC, in a region of DCC distinct from its netrin-binding domain. In vitro, neurite outgrowth from cortical and olfactory bulb explants of Dcc knock-out mice is significantly less inhibited by draxin, when compared with neurites from explants of wild-type mice. Furthermore, in comparison with wild-type mice, the growth cone collapse in response to draxin is largely abolished in Dcc-deficient cortical neurons. In vivo, double heteros of draxin/Dcc mice show markedly higher frequency of complete agenesis of corpus callosum than either of the single hetero. These results identify DCC as a convergent receptor for netrin and draxin in axon growth and guidance.

Laboratory Evaluation of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis from North East India.

Introduction: Subjects undergoing hemodialysis have enhanced vulnerability to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection due to invasive procedures and poor infection control practices. Early detection and treatment are essential to prevent cross-infection and mortality/morbidity. However, common use anti-HCV antibody tests lack the necessary accuracy, and alternative tests (e.g. core antigen detection kits) which are available need to be examined as a viable alternative. Method: A total of 270 continuous serum samples were collected from patients undergoing dialysis within 15 months of study period. Sequentially, multiple tests were performed - immunochromatography-based rapid test, third-generation ELISA i.e. (anti-HCV antibody detection), fourth-generation ELISA (HCV antigen-antibody combined detection assay), and HCV RNA quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay. Diagnostic parameters of serological kits were compared in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), accuracy, and so on. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was used. Results: HCV-combined core antigen-antibody assays performed better than other serological assays in reference to the gold standard HCV RNA. This fourth-generation assay yielded a Kappa value of 0.947 compared with the value of 0.747 and 0.619 for anti-HCV ELISA and rapid detection test. Other parameters such as sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and so on were also better for fourth-generation ELISA compared with third-generation ELISA and other serological assays. HCV RNA was negative in 7.3% of anti-HCV-positive patients and was detected in 11.4% of anti-HCV ELISA-negative patients. In about 1.6% of HCV RNA-positive cases, fourth-generation ELISA was negative and had low HCV viral load (650 IU/ml and below). Fourth generation ELISA detected additional 7.4% HCV positive cases (compared to third generation kits) and upon cost effective analyis, additional cost to be bear for the better detection (by fourth generation kit) was found to be only INR 27 per 1% increased case detection. Conclusion: In resource scant setup, screening and follow-up of patients undergoing hemodialysis can be performed by fourth-generation HCV ELISA (antigen-antibody combined assay) instead of the current practice of anti-HCV antibody ELISA. Better yield in detection rate will compensate for slight addition to costs.

Human rights violations and associated factors of the Hijras in Bangladesh-A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Hijras in Bangladesh face considerable discrimination, stigma, and violence despite the 2013 legislation that recognized Hijras as a third gender. There is a dearth of published literature describing the extent of human rights violations among this population and their associated factors. METHODS: A questionnaire was administered to 346 study participants aged 15 years and older, living in five urban cities of Bangladesh who self-identified as Hijra, in 2019. The six human rights violation indicators (Economic, Employment, Health, Education, Social and Civic and Political Right) assessed were categorized as binary. Associations between sociodemographic characteristics and the six human rights violations were tested using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Human right violations including economic, educational, political, employment, health and social/civil right violations were reported in 73.3%, 59.3%, 58.5%, 46.4%, 42.7%, and 34.4% of the participants, respectively. Economic rights violations were associated with bisexuality (Adjusted odds ratios [AOR] 3.60, 95%CI: 1.57, 8.26) and not living with family (AOR 2.71, 95%CI: 1.21, 6.09), while Hijras who earned more than 10,000 Bangladesh Taka experienced higher odds of educational (AOR 2.77, 95%CI: 1.06, 7.19) and political rights violations (AOR 4.30, 95%CI: 1.06, 7.44). Living in Dhaka city was associated with a reduced odds for economic and political rights violation while experiencing violations of one human right could lead to violation of another in the Hijra community. CONCLUSION: Human rights violations were common in Bangladesh Hijras, particularly the Bisexual Hijras. Media and educational awareness campaigns are needed to address the underlying roots of a violation. Programs focused on the families, young people and high-income earners of this community are needed in Bangladesh.

Prevalence of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene exon 7 Glu298Asp variant in North Eastern India.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Endothelial nitric oxide is a potent vasodilator and impairment of its generation brought about by gene polymorphism is considered a major predictor for several diseases. A single nucleotide polymorphism G894T within exon 7 of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS-7) gene, resulting in a replacement of glutamic acid by aspartic acid, has been studied as a putative candidate gene for cardiovascular diseases. The pattern of eNOS-7 Glu298Asp variant in the Indian population is poorly known. The present study was planned to determine the prevalence of the variant of this gene among tea garden community in Assam, North-East India with high prevalence of hypertension. METHODS: Study participants of both sex aged ≥18 yr were recruited randomly from temporary field clinics established in tea gardens of Dibrugarh, Assam. Genomic DNA was extracted from 409 subjects by the conventional phenol-chloroform method. The prevalence of the eNOS exon 7 Glu298Asp variant was determined by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. RESULTS: The study population was in Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium. The frequency of the eNOS GG, GT and TT genotypes was found to be 75, 22 and 3 per cent respectively and did not show any significant difference in gender wise analysis. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that the prevalence of the homozygous GG genotype was high (75%) and the rare mutant genotype (homozygous, TT) was 3 per cent in a population at risk with cardiovascular disease. Such population-based data on various polymorphisms can ultimately be exploited in pharmacogenomics.

Studies on the influence of host plants and effect of chemical stimulants on the feeding behavior in the muga silkworm, Antheraea assamensis.

The feeding habits of Antheraea assamensis, Helfer (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) larvae towards the leaves of its four different host plants, Persea bombycina King ex. Hook (Laurales: Lauraceae), Litsea polhantha Jussieu, L. salicifolia Roxburgh ex. Nees and L. citrata Blume, and the chemical basis of feeding preference were investigated. Nutritional superiority of young and medium leaves with respect to soluble protein, total phenol and phenylalanine ammonia lyase activity was observed in the leaves of P. bombycina compared to other host plants. Attraction and feeding tests with detached leaves and artificial diet with different chemical stimulants revealed that a mixture of the flavonoids, myrcetin, and 7, 2', 4' trimethoxy dihydroxy flavone with sterol compound ß-sitosterol elicited the most biting behavior by A. assamensis larvae. While linalyl acetate alone attracted larvae towards the leaves of the host plants, a mixture of caryophyllene, decyl aldehyde and dodecyl aldehyde was found to both attract them to the host leaves and cause biting behavior. Azaindole was found to deter them from the host plants.

Draxin is involved in the proper development of the dI3 interneuron in chick spinal cord.

Generation of the appropriate types, numbers and distribution of neurons during the development of the nervous system requires the careful coordination of proliferation, differentiation, and patterning. In this work, we analyzed the roles of a repulsive axon guidance protein, draxin, on the development of chick spinal cord dI3 interneuron. draxin mRNA and/or protein were detected in the roof plate at first and then the boundary region between the ventricular and the mantle zones in chick spinal cord and dorsal basement membrane of the chick spinal cord. Overexpression of draxin caused the decreased and delayed migration of the dI3 interneuron, the reduction of progenitor cell proliferation, and abnormal localization of some ectopic progenitor-like cells in the mantle zone of the spinal cord. Our data reveal that draxin may be involved in the proper development of the dI3 interneuron in chick spinal cord.

Multiple Functions of Draxin/Netrin-1 Signaling in the Development of Neural Circuits in the Spinal Cord and the Brain.

Axon guidance proteins play key roles in the formation of neural circuits during development. We previously identified an axon guidance cue, named draxin, that has no homology with other axon guidance proteins. Draxin is essential for the development of various neural circuits including the spinal cord commissure, corpus callosum, and thalamocortical projections. Draxin has been shown to not only control axon guidance through netrin-1 receptors, deleted in colorectal cancer (Dcc), and neogenin (Neo1) but also modulate netrin-1-mediated axon guidance and fasciculation. In this review, we summarize the multifaceted functions of draxin and netrin-1 signaling in neural circuit formation in the central nervous system. Furthermore, because recent studies suggest that the distributions and functions of axon guidance cues are highly regulated by glycoproteins such as Dystroglycan and Heparan sulfate proteoglycans, we discuss a possible function of glycoproteins in draxin/netrin-1-mediated axon guidance.

Immunomodulatory role of Th17 pathway in experimental visceral leishmaniasis.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or Kala-azar is a vector borne protozoan infection caused by Leishmania donovani in the Indian subcontinent mainly India, Nepal and Bangladesh. It is a major public health problem in these countries mostly affecting the socio-economically poor population. Leishmaniasis ranks the third most important disease after malaria and filariasis but is still considered as one of the neglected tropical diseases of the world. For development of better therapeutic agents and effective vaccine against VL, there is a need to understand host immunological changes that play a vital role during course of infection. Therefore, we investigated the role of Th17 pathway in Balb/c mice during Leishmania donovani infection and treatment with amphotericin B. Mice were divided in four groups i.e. Control, Infected, Uninfected treated and Infected treated. The cytokine levels were estimated in the spleen of Balb/c mice on days 1, 3, 7, 14, 17, 21, 28, 35, 45 and 60 post infection and during course of treatment. The mRNA levels of the Th17 pathway during active Leishmania donovani infection and after treatment were determined by real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and protein levels by flow cytometry and ELISA. Results of our study revealed that active infection was associated with low levels of Th17 cytokines IL-17, IL-22 and IL-23 and elevated levels of IL-6, IL-1ß and TGF-ß. Amphotericin B treatment restored production of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-17 and IL-22. The levels of transcription factor RORγt were found to correlate with the levels of IL-17 during infection and also after chemotherapy whereas STAT3 levels were elevated during infection and vice versa after treatment. The findings of this study suggest that Th17 cytokines IL-17 and IL-22 are associated with protection against VL infection and development of any interventions or chemotherapeutic agents targeting Th17 pathway could be an important approach for VL treatment.

Profilin and Mical combine to impair F-actin assembly and promote disassembly and remodeling.

Cellular events require the spatiotemporal interplay between actin assembly and actin disassembly. Yet, how different factors promote the integration of these two opposing processes is unclear. In particular, cellular monomeric (G)-actin is complexed with profilin, which inhibits spontaneous actin nucleation but fuels actin filament (F-actin) assembly by elongation-promoting factors (formins, Ena/VASP). In contrast, site-specific F-actin oxidation by Mical promotes F-actin disassembly and release of polymerization-impaired Mical-oxidized (Mox)-G-actin. Here we find that these two opposing processes connect with one another to orchestrate actin/cellular remodeling. Specifically, we find that profilin binds Mox-G-actin, yet these complexes do not fuel elongation factors'-mediated F-actin assembly, but instead inhibit polymerization and promote further Mox-F-actin disassembly. Using Drosophila as a model system, we show that similar profilin-Mical connections occur in vivo - where they underlie F-actin/cellular remodeling that accompanies Semaphorin-Plexin cellular/axon repulsion. Thus, profilin and Mical combine to impair F-actin assembly and promote F-actin disassembly, while concomitantly facilitating cellular remodeling and plasticity.

Analysis of a repulsive axon guidance molecule, draxin, on ventrally directed axon projection in chick early embryonic midbrain.

The mesencephalic V neurons and tectobulbar axons in chick embryo project over long distances that appear during the early development of the chick optic tectum. The mesencephalic V neuron and tectobulbar axonal growth begin at Hamburger and Hamilton stage 14 and stage 18, respectively. Both fibers proceed downward from the dorsal to the ventral side of the lateral wall of the optic tectum and then turn caudally and join the medial longitudinal fasciculus. Their axons appear in the most superficial layer of the tectum at early stages and do not cross the dorsal midline of the tectum. Here, we report the role of draxin, a recently identified axon guidance protein, in the formation of the ventrally directed tectum axonal tracts in chicken embryo. draxin is expressed in a high dorsal to low ventral gradient in chick optic tectum. In vitro experiments show that draxin repels neurite outgrowth from dorsal tectum explants. In vivo overexpression resulted in inhibition or misrouting of axon growth in the tectum. Therefore, draxin may be an important member of the collection of repulsive guidance molecules that regulate the formation of the ventrally directed tectum axon tracts.

Olfactory bulb axonal outgrowth is inhibited by draxin.

Olfactory bulb (OB) projection neurons receive sensory input from olfactory receptor neurons and precisely relay it through their axons to the olfactory cortex. Thus, olfactory bulb axonal tracts play an important role in relaying information to the higher order of olfactory structures in the brain. Several classes of axon guidance molecules influence the pathfinding of the olfactory bulb axons. Draxin, a recently identified novel class of repulsive axon guidance protein, is essential for the formation of forebrain commissures and can mediate repulsion of diverse classes of neurons from chickens and mice. In this study, we have investigated the draxin expression pattern in the mouse telencephalon and its guidance functions for OB axonal projection to the telencephalon. We have found that draxin is expressed in the neocortex and septum at E13 and E17.5 when OB projection neurons form the lateral olfactory tract (LOT) rostrocaudally along the ventrolateral side of the telencephalon. Draxin inhibits axonal outgrowth from olfactory bulb explants in vitro and draxin-binding activity in the LOT axons in vivo is detected. The LOT develops normally in draxin-/- mice despite subtle defasciculation in the tract of these mutants. These results suggest that draxin functions as an inhibitory guidance cue for OB axons and indicate its contribution to the formation of the LOT.

Draxin, an axon guidance protein, affects chick trunk neural crest migration.

The neural crest is a multipotent population of migratory cells that arises in the central nervous system and subsequently migrates along defined stereotypic pathways. In the present work, we analyzed the role of a repulsive axon guidance protein, draxin, in the migration of neural crest cells. Draxin is expressed in the roof plate of the chick trunk spinal cord and around the early migration pathway of neural crest cells. Draxin modulates chick neural crest cell migration in vitro by reducing the polarization of these cells. When exposed to draxin, the velocity of migrating neural crest cells was reduced, and the cells changed direction so frequently that the net migration distance was also reduced. Overexpression of draxin also caused some early migrating neural crest cells to change direction to the dorsolateral pathway in the chick trunk region, presumably due to draxin's inhibitory activity. These results demonstrate that draxin, an axon guidance protein, can also affect trunk neural crest migration in the chick embryo.

Toxigenic and pathogenic potential of enteric bacterial pathogens prevalent in the traditional fermented foods marketed in the Northeast region of India.

The microbial risk involved with natural food fermentation is largely unknown. Here, we report the prevalence of enteric bacterial pathogens in the traditional fermented foods marketed in Northeast region of India. A total of 682 samples of 39 food types (broadly categorized into fermented soybean, bamboo shoot, fish, milk and pork products) collected over four different seasons from seven states of India were analyzed in this study. Cultivation-independent analysis by MiSeq amplicon sequencing of V4-V5 region of the 16S rRNA gene showed the bacterial community structure in the foods. Among the WHO prioritized foodborne bacterial pathogens, we detected the prevalence of phylotypes related to Clostridium botulinum, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens, Listeria monocytogenes, and Escherichia coli in these ethnic foods. We also observed the occurrence of other well known human enteric pathogens like Proteus mirabilis, Clostridium difficile, and Yersinia enterocolitica. Further pathogen-specific qPCR assays confirmed a higher population (>107 cells/g) of B. cereus, P. mirabilis, and a C. botulinum related phylotype in the fermented soybean, fish, and pork products. We noticed a general trend of higher pathogen occurrence during the colder months without any seasonal variation of total bacterial load in the fermented foods. Further qPCR analysis on toxigenic and pathogenic potential, and toxins production by immunoassays showed that all the soybean samples and the isolated B. cereus cultures were positive for diarrheal toxins (Nhe and Hb1), and nearly half of the samples were positive for emetic toxin (cereulide). Similarly, the food samples and associated swarming P. mirabilis cultures were positive with the pathogenic factors like hemolysin (hpm), urease (ure) and multidrug resistance. However, we could not confirm the presence of botulinum neurotoxin (toxins A, B, E, and F) in the C. botulinum positive food samples. This is the first baseline data of the enteric bacterial pathogens prevalent in the traditional fermented foods of India, which will support the sustained effort of WHO to estimate the global foodborne disease burden. The unusual presence of P. mirabilis in the fermented foods marketed in the Indian region with high incidence of urolithiasis cases is a concern. Our study emphasizes the need of the hour to have a coordinated action to control and prevent the spread of enteric bacterial pathogens through fermented foods marketed in India. Moreover, replacing the indigenous process with a defined starter culture based controlled fermentation will enhance the safety of Indian fermented foods.