Research Publications (Food Safety)

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular zoonotic pathogen capable of infecting almost all cells of warm-blooded vertebrates. In intermediate hosts, this parasite reproduces asexually in two forms, the tachyzoite form during acute infection that proliferates rapidly and the bradyzoite form during chronic infection that grows slowly. Depending on the growth condition, the two forms can interconvert. The conversion of tachyzoites to bradyzoites is critical for T.

Cryptosporidium parvum is a main cause of severe diarrhea in young calves leading to economic loss and animal suffering. Little is known about the epidemiology of the genetic subtypes that may differ in their infectiousness and zoonotic potential. The present study analyzes the distribution of Glycoprotein 60 (GP60) variants in C.

The plateau zokor (Myospalax baileyi) is a small subterranean rodent endemic to China that lives alone in sealed underground burrows at altitudes ranging from 2000 to 4200 m above sea level on the Tibetan Plateau. Due to the unique environmental factors in the Tibetan Plateau, intestinal parasites in the local population may be more likely to develop host-adapted genotypes.

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, Accepted Article. The Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite which significantly impact small ruminant productivity, international animal trade and transboundary movement of animal across the globe. The seroprevalence of T.

by Rahul Singh Rawat, Priyanka Bansal, Pushkar Sharma Phosphoinositides are important second messengers that regulate key cellular processes in eukaryotes. While it is known that a single phosphoinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) catalyses the formation of 3’-phosphorylated phosphoinositides (PIPs) in apicomplexan parasites like Plasmodium and Toxoplasma, how its activity and PI3P formation is regulated has remained unknown.

Consumption of undercooked meat is one of the main transmission routes for Toxoplasma gondii worldwide. In the South American Andes, the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) is a domestic rodent representing one of the main sources of animal proteins for indigenous communities. Although T. gondii infects a wide range of rodents worldwide, the natural impact of the infection on guinea pig populations is still unknown.

Background Cryptosporidiosis is a crucial zoonotic global health concern which can be treated by alternative medicinal plants extracts. Aim of the study The study was carried out to assess the therapeutic efficacy of Citrus sinensis peel ethanolic extract on Cryptosporidium-infected mice. Methods Two doses of Citrus sinensis extract; high dose (30 mg/kg) and low dose (15 mg/kg) were investigated compared to the commo

Toxoplasmosis is an important zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii). However, the functions of circRNAs and miRNAs in response to T. gondii infection in the livers of mice at acute and chronic stages remain unknown. Here, high-throughput RNA sequencing was performed for detecting the expression of circRNAs and miRNAs in livers of mice infected with 20 T.

Background Diarrhea is still the most common and economically most significant disease of newborn calves. Objective Analysis of the development of selected bacterial groups in the feces of neonatal calves and its significance regarding diarrhea. Animals A total of 150 newborn Simmental calves reared in 13 Bavarian farms were included in the study. Methods Fecal samples of calves taken at 0/6/12/24/48/72/168 hours

by Stephanie D. Nofal, Caia Dominicus, Malgorzata Broncel, Nicholas J. Katris, Helen R. Flynn, Gustavo Arrizabalaga, Cyrille Y. Botté, Brandon M. Invergo, Moritz Treeck Fundamental processes that govern the lytic cycle of the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii are regulated by several signalling pathways. However, how these pathways are connected remains largely unknown.

Giardia duodenalis is a parasitic flagellated protozoan which infects a wide range of mammalian hosts, including humans, and is subdivided into at least eight genetic assemblages commonly thought to represent cryptic species. Molecular studies have shown that G. duodenalis assemblage A, which parasitizes humans and animals, contains several phylogenetically distinct groupings known as sub-assemblages.

Giardia and Cryptosporidium the important causative agents of intestinal parasitic diseases (IPD) are ubiquitously distributed in the environment, especially in wastewater and reclaimed water. Due to the water shortage crisis and extensive utilization of reclaimed water, the presence of these parasitic protozoa in wastewater is a concern from the public and environmental health point of view.

Molecular Microbiology, Accepted Article. Virulence and persistence of the obligate intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii involve the secretion of effector proteins belonging to the family of dense granule proteins (GRAs) that act notably as modulators of the host defense mechanisms and participate in cyst wall formation.

Cryptosporidium spp. are common enteric parasites in humans and animals. Herein, 175 faecal specimens were collected from a broiler farm in Xinjiang, China, including seven repeated samplings at 10-day intervals of broilers aged 10 to 70 days. Cryptosporidium was detected and identified by PCR–RFLP analysis.

Background:Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that invades nearly all nucleated cells of a broad spectrum of vertebrate hosts, and which may cause serious disease in immunocompromised patients, as well as in the immunologically incompetent fetus. This study aimed to establish a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technique to rapidly detect T. gondii in the blood infection by targeting the 529 bp repeat element of T. gondii.

mBio, Ahead of Print. Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular apicomplexan parasite that relies on cyclic GMP (cGMP)-dependent signaling to trigger timely egress from host cells in response to extrinsic and intrinsic signals. A guanylate cyclase (GC) complex, conserved across the Apicomplexa, plays a pivotal role in integrating these signals, such as the key lipid mediator phosphatidic acid and changes in pH and ionic composition.

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, Volume 69, Issue 5, Page 2412-2423, September 2022. Oocyst shedding in domestic and wild felids is a critical yet understudied topic in Toxoplasma gondii ecology and epidemiology that shapes human and animal disease burden.

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, Volume 69, Issue 5, Page 2440-2450, September 2022. Toxoplasma gondii was initially classified in three main lineages related to its virulence: Types I, II, and III. The recombination of genes during sexual cycle in felids gut led to more than 200 genotypes, found in ToxoDB database, using 11 RFLP markers. Free-range chickens are good bioindicators of soil contamination with T. gondii oocysts.

Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular protozoan parasite that infects most warm-blooded animals, including humans, and causes toxoplasmosis. In this study, the pathogenicity of RH strain of T. gondii in broiler chicks was investigated and the susceptible tissues of chicks were clarified. Fourteen-day-old broiler chicks were injected intraperitoneally with 1×107, 1×106, and 1×105 tachyzoites of T. gondii, respectively.

Toxoplasma gondii infections are common in humans and animals worldwide. Ingestion of raw or undercooked meat containing tissue cysts of T. gondii is one major source of transmission of this parasite. It is important to guarantee the meat quality of China since our pork industry produces about half of the world's pork. In this study, a total of 746 pig samples were collected from Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces in eastern China, and examined for T.

Humans are exposed to Toxoplasma gondii infection as pet cats gradually become family members and represent an increasing public health risk worldwide. Toxoplasmosis diagnosis constitutes an important measure for disease prevention and control. In this study, real-time fluorescence quantitative loop-mediated isothermal amplification (qLAMP) and visual LAMP detection technologies were established to conduct tests of T.

mBio, Ahead of Print. Prenyldiphosphate synthases catalyze the reaction of allylic diphosphates with one or more isopentenyl diphosphate molecules to form compounds such as farnesyl diphosphate, used in, e.g., sterol biosynthesis and protein prenylation, as well as longer “polyprenyl” diphosphates, used in ubiquinone and menaquinone biosynthesis.

by Ningbo Xia, Xuefang Guo, Qinghong Guo, Nishith Gupta, Nuo Ji, Bang Shen, Lihua Xiao, Yaoyu Feng Metabolic pathways underpin the growth and virulence of intracellular parasites and are therefore promising antiparasitic targets.

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, Accepted Article. Toxoplasmosis is an emerging and re-emerging infectious disease that can be transmitted through a contaminated environment. Environmental contamination is an emergency health issue and determining its occurrence is fundamental to a One Health approach. In this study we addressed the extent of environmental contamination and viability of T.

by Ilia Gelfat, Yousuf Aqeel, Jacqueline M. Tremblay, Justyna J. Jaskiewicz, Anishma Shrestha, James N. Lee, Shenglan Hu, Xi Qian, Loranne Magoun, Abhineet Sheoran, Daniela Bedenice, Colter Giem, Avinash Manjula-Basavanna, Amanda R. Pulsifer, Hann X. Tu, Xiaoli Li, Marilyn L. Minus, Marcia S. Osburne, Saul Tzipori, Charles B. Shoemaker, John M. Leong, Neel S.