Research Publications (Food Safety)

Letters in Applied Microbiology, EarlyView.

Letters in Applied Microbiology, EarlyView.

Letters in Applied Microbiology, EarlyView.

Letters in Applied Microbiology, Accepted Article.

Letters in Applied Microbiology, Accepted Article. High-throughput 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA sequencing were performed to study the changes of soil microbial diversity and community structure under different heavy metal pollution levels in Chengxian lead-zinc mining area, Gansu Province. In this study, we characterized the main physicochemical properties, multiple heavy metal pollution, and microbial community structure of the soil in the tailings.

Letters in Applied Microbiology, Accepted Article. Cadmium (Cd) is considered a toxic heavy metal, nevertheless, its toxicity fluctuates for different organisms. Cadmium-tolerant bacteria (CdtB) are a diverse and non-phylogenetically related. Because of their ecological importance these bacteria become particularly relevant when pollution occurs and where human health is impacted.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are organic compounds generated mainly by anthropogenic sources. They are considered toxic to mammals, since they have carcinogenic, mutagenic, and genotoxic properties, among others. Although mycoremediation is an efficient, economical, and eco‐friendly technique for degrading PAHs, the fungal degradation potential of the phylum Ascomycota has not been widely studied.

Widespread of heavy metals contamination has led to several environmental problems. Some biological methods to remove heavy metals from contaminated wastewater are being widely explored. In the present study, the efficiency of a white‐rot fungus, Phlebia brevispora to remove different metals (Pb, Cd and Ni) has been evaluated. Atomic absorption spectroscopy of treated and untreated metal containing water revealed that all the metals were efficiently removed by the fungus.

Significance and Impact of the Study: The occurrence and severity of fungal infections have increased in recent decades due to resistance to available antifungal drugs and the appearance of new emerging pathogens. Thus, the search for new antifungal agents is mandatory. From a series of 23 cinnamyl Schiff bases, two compounds (1 and 23) were interrogated as new anticryptococcal agents without significant cytotoxicity against human lung, kidney or red blood cells.

Sediment samples were taken from sediment adjacent to an urban river in Sheffield in Northern England that had suffered heavy metal pollution due to previous activity of the steel industry (between the 17th and 19th centuries). The most abundant heavy metals found in the samples were lead, chromium, nickel, arsenic and cobalt, with maximum concentrations of 412.80 mg kg‐1 25.232 mg kg‐1, 25.196 mg kg‐1, 8.123 mg kg‐1 and 7.66 mg kg‐1, respectively.

Significance and Impact of the Study: Vibrio harveyi is a major pathogen of marine animals. The bacterium could enter into a viable but non‐culturable state (VBNC) state when exposed to harsh conditions, and retains its pathogenicity after resuscitation. In this work, we analysed the enzyme activities of a resuscitation‐promoting factor YeaZ and the relationship of protease activities with its promoting effect on the resuscitation of VBNC cells.

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Environmental contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) typically occurs as mixtures of compounds. In this study, the response of indigenous soil bacterial and fungal communities to mixtures containing phenanthrene, fluoranthene and benzo(a)pyrene in various combinations was examined using molecular fingerprinting techniques and quantification of a key PAH degradative gene. Results were compared to a parallel study by Sawulski et al.