Research Publications (Food Safety)

Since the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century, they have been used to fight against infections. The overuse of antibiotics in the wider environment has resulted in the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. In developing countries such as China and developed countries such as the USA, there is evidence of the high pervasiveness of antibiotic-resistant infections.

Foodborne diseases affect an estimated 600 million people worldwide annually, with the majority of these illnesses caused by Norovirus, Vibrio, Listeria, Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Escherichia coli. To elicit infections in humans, bacterial pathogens express a combination of virulence factors and toxins.

Consumption or handling of poultry and poultry products contaminated with Campylobacter species are a leading cause of foodborne illness in humans. Current strategies employed to reduce Campylobacter in live chickens provide inconsistent results indicating the need for an alternative approach.

Cyadox has potential use as an antimicrobial agent in animals. However, its pharmacodynamic properties have not been systematically studied yet. In this study, the in vitro antibacterial activities of cyadox were assayed, and the antibacterial efficacy of cyadox against facultative anaerobes was also determined under anaerobic conditions.

ABSTRACT

Vibrio parahaemolyticus non-toxigenic strains are responsible for about 10% of acute gastroenteritis associated with this species, suggesting they harbor unique virulence factors. Zonula occludens toxin (Zot), firstly described in Vibrio cholerae, is a secreted toxin that increases intestinal permeability. Recently, we identified Zot-encoding genes in the genomes of highly cytotoxic Chilean V. parahaemolyticus strains, including the non-toxigenic clinical strain PMC53.7.

In Japan, strategies for ensuring food safety have been developed without reliable scientific evidence on the relation between foodborne infections and foods. The aim of this research was to provide information on the proportions of foodborne diseases caused by seven major causative pathogens ( Campylobacte r spp., Salmonella spp., EHEC, V. parahaemolyticus , Clostridium perfringens , Staphylococcus aureus , and Norovirus) attributable to foods using analysis of outbreak surveillance data.

ABSTRACT

Helical cell shape appears throughout the bacterial phylogenetic tree. Recent exciting work characterizing cell shape mutants in a number of curved and helical Proteobacteria is beginning to suggest possible mechanisms and provide tools to assess functional significance.

Author(s): Els Vossen, Sophie Goethals, Jo De Vrieze, Nico Boon, Thomas van Hecke, Stefaan De Smet

Background The ability to identify bacterial pathogens that necessitate specific clinical management or public health action in children with acute gastroenteritis is crucial to patient care and public health. However, existing stool-testing guidelines offer inconsistent recommendations, and their performance characteristics are unknown.

The gut microbiome is critical in providing resistance against colonization by exogenous microorganisms. The mechanisms via which the gut microbiota provide colonization resistance (CR) have not been fully elucidated, but they include secretion of antimicrobial products, nutrient competition, support of gut barrier integrity, and bacteriophage deployment.

Random Mutagenesis Applied to Reveal Factors Involved in Oxidative Tolerance and Biofilm Formation in Foodborne Cronobacter malonaticus

Aquatic environments are reservoirs of the human pathogen Vibrio cholerae O1, which causes the acute diarrheal disease cholera. Upon low temperature or limited nutrient availability, the cells enter a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state. Characteristic of this state are an altered morphology, low metabolic activity, and lack of growth under standard laboratory conditions. Here, for the first time, the cellular ultrastructure of V.

The flagellar lipoprotein FlgP has been identified in several species of bacteria and, its absence provokes different phenotypes. In this work we show that in the α proteobacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides, a flgP mutant is unable to assemble the hook and the filament. In contrast, the MS ring and the flagellar rod appear to be assembled. In the absence of FlgP a severe defect in the transition from rod to hook polymerization occurs.

Publication date: Available online 2 May 2018


Author(s): Adriana Calderaro, Monica Martinelli, Mirko Buttrini, Sara Montecchini, Silvia Covan, Sabina Rossi, Francesca Ferraglia, Paolo Montagna, Federica Pinardi, Sandra Larini, Maria Cristina Arcangeletti, Maria Cristina Medici, Carlo Chezzi, Flora De Conto

Publication date: 17 July 2017
, Volume 253

Author(s): Xiaoqiang Wang, Sisi Ying, Xiaoguang Wei, Jun Yuan

Publication date: August 2017
Source:LWT - Food Science and Technology, Volume 81

Author(s): Hae-Won Lee, So-Ra Yoon, Su-Ji Kim, Hee Min Lee, Jae Yong Lee, Ji-Hyun Lee, Sung Hyun Kim, Ji-Hyoung Ha

Publication date: 16 August 2016
, Volume 231

Author(s): Hamzah M. Al-Qadiri, Murad A. Al-Holy, Setareh Ghorban Shiroodi, Mahmoudreza Ovissipour, Byju N. Govindan, Nivin Al-Alami, Shyam S. Sablani, Barbara Rasco

Although it is known that diverse bacterial flagellar motors produce different torques, the mechanism underlying torque variation is unknown. To understand this difference better, we combined genetic analyses with electron cryo-tomography subtomogram averaging to determine in situ structures of flagellar motors that produce different torques, from Campylobacter and Vibrio species....

The gut microbiota plays important roles in its host. However, how each microbiota member contributes to the behavior of the whole population is not known. In this study, we therefore determined protein expression in the cecal microbiota in chickens of selected ages and in 7-day-old chickens inoculated with different cecal extracts on the day of hatching.

Flagellation in polar flagellates is one of the rare biosynthetic processes known to be numerically regulated in bacteria. Polar flagellates must spatially and numerically regulate flagellar biogenesis to create flagellation patterns for each species that are ideal for motility. FlhG ATPases numerically regulate polar flagellar biogenesis, yet FlhG orthologs are diverse in motif composition.

Publication date: Available online 3 September 2015

Author(s): Chen Zhang, Peihua Niu, Yanying Hong, Ji Wang, Jingyun Zhang, Xuejun Ma

Publication date: 30 September 2015
, Volume 179, Issues 3–4
Author(s): Tim R. Crawshaw, Jeremy I. Chanter, Stuart C.L. Young, Shaun Cawthraw, Adrian M. Whatmore, Mark S. Koylass, Ana B. Vidal, Francisco J. Salguero, Richard M Irvine