Research Publications (Food Safety)

Diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) cause serious foodborne infections in humans. Total of 450 Shigatoxigenic E. coli (STEC) strains isolated from humans, animals and environment in Finland were examined by multiplex PCR targeting the virulence genes of various DEC pathogroups simultaneously. One per cent (3/291) of the human STEC and 14% (22/159) of the animal and environmental STEC had genes typically present in enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC).

Vesicle fusion governs many important biological processes, and imbalances in the regulation of membrane fusion can lead to a variety of diseases such as diabetes and neurological disorders. Here we show that the Vibrio parahaemolyticus effector protein VopQ is a potent inhibitor of membrane fusion based on an in vitro...

The spatial spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 and its long-term persistence in Asia have resulted in avian influenza panzootics and enormous economic losses in the poultry sector. However, an understanding of the regional long-distance transmission and seasonal patterns of the virus is still lacking. In this...

Publication date: June 2015
, Volume 52
Author(s): Andoni Zuriarrain , Juan Zuriarrain , Ana Isabel Puertas , María Teresa Dueñas , Iñaki Berregi

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease , Vol. 0, No. 0.

Publication date: Available online 7 January 2015

Author(s): Julie-Hélène Fairbrother , Simon Dufour , John Morris Fairbrother , David Francoz , Éric Nadeau , Serge Messier

Background. Previous population-based estimates in the United States have shown a relatively high prevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) antibody. We sought to determine whether changes in the prevalence of HEV antibody have occurred over time.

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease , Vol. 0, No. 0.

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease , Vol. 0, No. 0.

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease , Vol. 0, No. 0.

Pathogens in the gastrointestinal tract exist within a vast population of microbes. We examined associations between pathogens and composition of gut microbiota as they relate to Shigella spp./enteroinvasive Escherichia coli infection. We analyzed 3,035 stool specimens (1,735 nondiarrheal and 1,300 moderate-to-severe diarrheal) from the Global Enteric Multicenter Study for 9 enteropathogens.

Publication date: January 2015
, Volume 45, Issue 1
Author(s): Steven C. Olsen , Steve A. Carlson

Ian F. Connerton and Steven P.T. Hooton Campylobacter jejuni is a worldwide cause of human diarrhoeal disease. Clustered Repetitively Interspaced Palindromic Repeats (CRISPRs) and associated proteins allow Bacteria and Archaea to evade bacteriophage and plasmid infection. Type II CRISPR systems are found in association with combinations of genes encoding the CRISPR-associated Cas1, Cas2, Cas4 or Csn2, and Cas9 proteins. C.

Four different processesenzymatic, microwave-intensified enzymatic, chemical, and microwave-intensified chemical) were used to produce fish protein hydrolysates (FPH) from Yellowtail Kingfish for food applications. In this study, the production yield and oil-binding capacity of FPH produced from different processes were evaluated. Microwave intensification significantly increased the production yields of enzymatic process from 42% to 63%.

Human Vibrio infections associated with consumption of raw shellfish greatly impact the seafood industry. Vibrio cholerae-related disease is occasionally attributed to seafood, but V. vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus are the primary targets of postharvest processing (PHP) efforts in the United States, as they pose the greatest threat to the industry.

We compared the results of high-hydrostatic-pressure (HHP) inactivation of murine norovirus type 1 (MNV-1) and Tulane virus (TV) obtained by a porcine gastric mucin binding assay followed by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (referred to here as the PGM-MB/PCR assay) and a plaque assay and evaluated HHP inactivation of a human norovirus (HuNoV) genogroup I genotype 1 (GI.1) strain and a HuNoV GII.4 strain by using the PGM-MB/PCR assay.

Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are among the most commonly used disinfectants. There has been concern that their widespread use will lead to the development of resistant organisms, and it has been suggested that limits should be place on their use. While increases in tolerance to QACs have been observed, there is no clear evidence to support the development of resistance to QACs.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is, to date, the major E. coli serotype causing food-borne human disease worldwide. Strains of O157 with other H antigens also have been recovered. We analyzed a collection of historic O157 strains (n = 400) isolated in the late 1980s to early 1990s in the United States. Strains were predominantly serotype O157:H7 (55%), and various O157:non-H7 (41%) serotypes were not previously reported regarding their pathogenic potential.

The alphaproteobacterium Hyphomonas neptunium proliferates by a unique budding mechanism in which daughter cells emerge from the end of a stalk-like extension emanating from the mother cell body. Studies of this species so far have been hampered by the lack of a genetic system and of molecular tools allowing the regulated expression of target genes. Based on microarray analyses, this work identifies two H. neptunium promoters that are activated specifically by copper and zinc.

Polyhalogenated aromatic compounds are harmful environmental contaminants and tend to persist in anoxic soils and sediments. Dehalococcoides mccartyi strain DCMB5, a strain originating from dioxin-polluted river sediment, was examined for its capacity to dehalogenate diverse chloroaromatic compounds.

Brucella is an expanding genus of major zoonotic pathogens, including at least 10 genetically very close species occupying a wide range of niches from soil to wildlife, livestock, and humans. Recently, we have shown that in the new species Brucella microti, the glutamate decarboxylase (Gad)-dependent system (GAD system) contributes to survival at a pH of 2.5 and also to infection in mice by the oral route.

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) naturally exist as components of protein complexes containing nontoxic proteins. The nontoxic proteins impart stability of BoNTs in the gastrointestinal tract and during purification and handling. The two primary neurotoxin complexes (TCs) are (i) TC1, consisting of BoNT, nontoxin-nonhemagglutinin (NTNH), and hemagglutinins (HAs), and (ii) TC2, consisting of BoNT and NTNH (and possibly OrfX proteins).

Flavobacterium psychrophilum causes bacterial cold-water disease in multiple fish species, including salmonids. An autochthonous Enterobacter strain (C6-6) inhibits the in vitro growth of F. psychrophilum, and when ingested as a putative probiotic, it provides protection against injection challenge with F. psychrophilum in rainbow trout. In this study, low-molecular-mass (≤3 kDa) fractions from both Enterobacter C6-6 and Escherichia coli K-12 culture supernatants inhibited the growth of F.

Specific concerns have been raised that third-generation cephalosporin-resistant (3GCr) Escherichia coli, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole-resistant (COTr) E. coli, 3GCr Salmonella enterica, and nalidixic acid-resistant (NALr) S. enterica may be present in cattle production environments, persist through beef processing, and contaminate final products.

Salmonella enterica serovar Kentucky has become the most frequently isolated serovar from poultry in the United States over the past decade. Despite its prevalence in poultry, it causes few human illnesses in the United States. The dominance of S. Kentucky in poultry does not appear to be due to single introduction of a clonal strain, and its reduced virulence appears to correlate with the absence of virulence genes grvA, sseI, sopE, and sodC1. S.