Research Publications (Food Safety)

Bacillus cereus is a well-characterized human pathogen that produces toxins associated with diarrheal and emetic foodborne diseases. To investigate the possible transmission of B. cereus on lettuce farms in China and determine its enterotoxicity, (I) a total of 524 samples (lettuce: 332, soil: 69, water: 57, manure: 57, pesticide: 9) were collected from 46 lettuce farms in five Chinese provinces, (II) multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used to classify B.

Due to its food-poisoning potential, Bacillus cereus has attracted the attention of the food industry. The cereulide-toxin-producing subgroup is of particular concern, as cereulide toxin is implicated in broadscale food-borne outbreaks and occasionally causes fatalities. The health risks associated with long-term cereulide exposure at low doses remain largely unexplored.

Bacillus cereus D2, a psychrotrophic strain, plays an essential role in the restoration of heavy metal-contaminated soils, especially at low temperatures. However, the cold shock response mechanisms of this strain are unclear. In this study, the cold shock response of B. cereus D2 was characterized; as per the Arrhenius curve, 10 °C was chosen as the cold shock temperature.

Sensitive, simple, and rapid pathogen separation and detection methods are essential for the early diagnosis and immediate medical treatment of bacterial infections. In this study, a novel strategy based on vancomycin (Van)-modified ovalbumin (OVA) mediated magnetic nanoprobes (MBs-OVA-Van) combined with multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) was developed for efficient isolation and detection of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Bacillus cereus (B.

Soil contamination with heavy metals causes heavy environmental problems, in particular toxic effects on plants as well as on animals and humans. This article analyzes the effects of copper, a potentially toxic metal and abundant contaminant, on soil bacteria. Gram-positive soil bacteria of the Bacillus and Arthrobacter species, isolated from heavy metal contaminated areas, have been investigated as regards copper resistance.

Antibiotic resistance is a major concern given the rapid emergence of multiple-drug-resistant bacteria compared to the discovery of novel antibacterials. An alternative strategy is enhancing the existing available drugs. Nanomedicine has emerged as an exciting area of research, showing promise in the enhanced development of existing antimicrobials. Herein, we synthesized nanocarriers and loaded these with available clinically approved drugs, namely Moxifloxacin and Sulfamethoxazole.

Postharvest strawberry is susceptible to gray mold disease caused by Botrytis cinerea, which seriously damage the storage capacity of fruits. Biological control has been implicated as an effective and safe method to suppress plant disease. The aim of this study is to evaluate the postharvest disease control ability of Bacillus cereus AR156 and explore the response of strawberry fruit to this biocontrol microorganism.

Author(s): Yiying Huang, Steve H. Flint, Jon S. Palmer

Author(s): Xuyang Wang, Lu Tian, Jiapeng Fu, Sichen Liao, Siqi Yang, Xinyi Jia, Guoli Gong

Screening for producers of potent antimicrobial peptides, resulted in the isolation of Bacillus cereus BGNM1 with strong antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes. Genome sequence analysis revealed that BGNM1 contains the gene cluster associated with the production of the lantibiotic, thusin, previously identified in B. thuringiensis. Purification of the antimicrobial activity confirmed that strain BGMN1 produces thusin.

Bacillus cereus is frequently associated with food-borne intoxications, and its emetic toxin cereulide causes emesis and nausea after consumption of contaminated foods. The major source for contamination is found within contaminated raw materials containing the highly chemically resistant cereulide, independent of vegetative bacteria cells. Up to date, non-existing removal strategies for cereulide evoke the question of how the toxin is distributed within a food sample, especially cow milk.

The aim of the present study was to isolate and identify lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from fermented juice of tropical crops such as Napier grass, Ruzi grass, Purple guinea grass, Stylo legume, and Leucaena and their application to improve the quality of tropical crop silage. Fifteen strains of LAB were isolated.

Mastitis is the economically most important disease of dairy cows. This study used PacBio single-molecule real-time sequencing technology to sequence the full-length 16S rRNAs from 27 milk samples (18 from mastitis and nine from healthy cows; the cows were at different stages of lactation). We observed that healthy or late stage milk microbiota had significantly higher microbial diversity and richness. The community composition of the microbiota of different groups also varied greatly.

Author(s): Erica Tirloni, Cristian Bernardi, Francesco Celandroni, Emilia Ghelardi, Simone Stella

Fatty acids of two mesophilic and one psychrotrophic strains of the foodborne pathogen Bacillus cereus were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry during growth at cold (10 and 12°C) vs. optimal (30°C) temperatures and during the whole growth process (6–7 sampling times) from lag to stationary phase. In all these strains, a sequential change of fatty acids during cold growth was observed.

Author(s): Vanessa Pereira Perez Alonso, Jessica de Oliveira Moraes, Dirce Yorika Kabuki

The aim of this study is to analyze and document the microbiological safety and quality of ready-to-eat foods in hospital and university canteens in Hanoi, Vietnam. A total of 420 ready-to-eat food products from 21 canteens were sampled in July 2018 and May 2019. The ratio of samples exceeding the unsatisfactory level for Total Plate Count (TPC) was 31%.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, EarlyView. Bacillus cereus is one of the leading etiological agents of toxin-induced foodborne diseases. Its omnipresence in different environments, spore formation, and its ability to adapt to varying conditions and produce harmful toxins make this pathogen a health hazard that should not be underestimated. Food poisoning by B. cereus can manifest itself as an emetic or diarrheal syndrome.

Bacteriocins have become biological weapons against harmful food pathogens and have attracted interest as tools for biopreservation. The aim of this study was to isolate, identify and characterize lactic acid bacterial (LAB) strains from cheese samples, partially purify potential bacteriocins and characterize their antimicrobial activity against pathogens. Bacteriocin-producing organisms were screened by Agar spot assay test.

Sixteen metabolites, including seven C7-alkylated salicylaldehyde derivatives (1–7) and nine prenylated indole alkaloids (8–16), three of which are new, namely, asperglaucins A and B (1 and 2) and neoechinulin F (8), were separated from the endolichenic fungus Aspergillus chevalieri SQ-8. Asperglaucin A (1) represents an unusual phthalide-like derivative with a benzo[c]thiophen-1(3H)-one scaffold.

ABSTRACT Stachys pilifera Benth is an endemic species of Stachys family found in Iran with a wide application as an herbal tea. The objective of this research was to evaluate the antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of the essential oil from the aerial parts of S. pilifera.

Co-infection with ancillary pathogens is a significant modulator of morbidity and mortality in infectious diseases. There have been limited reports of co-infections accompanying SARS-CoV-2 infections, albeit lacking India specific study. The present study has made an effort toward elucidating the prevalence, diversity and characterization of co-infecting respiratory pathogens in the nasopharyngeal tract of SARS-CoV-2 positive patients.

A 57-year-old man with a medical history notable for hypertension presented with 10 days of blue skin discoloration on the bilateral arms and trunk. The discoloration was asymptomatic without any associated pain or itch. His medications included hydrochlorothiazide, olmesartan, and amlodipine with no new medications or exposures. A review of systems was unremarkable.

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. Bacillus cereus is among the primary food-poisoning pathogenic bacterium that causes diarrhea and emetic types of diseases throughout the world. Recent advances show that bacteriophages become important tools in detection and control of foodborne bacterial pathogens in foods. They gain the interest of researchers for the food industries mainly because they are host-specific and harmless to humans.