Research Publications (Food Safety)

High-throughput sequencing (HTS) techniques are of great value for the investigation of microbial communities, and have been extensively used to study the gut microbiome. While most studies focus on the human gut, many others have investigated insects. However, because of the rapid spread of HTS techniques, a lot of variation exists in the protocols for sample preparation.

Foods may potentially serve as vehicles for the transmission of antimicrobial-resistant variants of Staphylococcus aureus that are important in a human clinical context. Further, retail food products can be a cause of staphylococcal food poisoning. For these reasons and to account for source attribution and risk assessment, detailed information on the population structure, resistance, and virulence profiles of S. aureus originating from retail food products is necessary.

Neurogenic and non-neurogenic urethral sphincter dysfunction are common causes of voiding dysfunction. Injections of botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) into the urethral sphincter have been used to treat urethral sphincter dysfunction (USD) refractory to conventional treatment.

The incidence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection has been low in developed countries for decades; however, many adults in these countries are susceptible to HAV infection. In recent years, the global trade of food products originating from HAV-endemic countries resulted in HAV outbreaks associated with imported foods in developed countries.

With the only exception of glycine, all amino acids exist in two specular structures which are mirror images of each other, called D-(dextro) and L-(levo) enantiomers. During evolution, L-amino acids were preferred for protein synthesis and main metabolism; however, the D-amino acids (D-AAs) acquired different and specific functions in different organisms (from playing a structural role in the peptidoglycan of the bacterial cell wall to modulating neurotransmission in mammalian brain).

Bioremediation of environmental estrogens requires microorganisms with stable degradation efficiency and great stress tolerance in complex environments. In this work, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia SJTL3 isolated from wastewater was found to be able to degrade over 90% of 10 μg/mL 17β-estradiol (E2) in a week and the degradation dynamic was fitted by the first-order kinetic equations. Estrone was the first and major intermediate of E2 biodegradation.

Heavy metal(loid)s play pivotal roles in regulating physiological and developmental aspects in living organisms depending on their concentration. For example, a trace amount of heavy metal(loid)s is essential for living organisms, but heavy metal(loid)s in high concentrations negatively affect their physiology and development.

Saprolegnia parasitica is a pathogenic oomycete responsible for severe fish infections. Despite its low abundance in the cell wall of S. parasitica, chitin is essential for hyphal growth as the inhibition of its biosynthesis leads to highly reduced growth. Here we identified and characterized chitin synthases (CHS) from S. parasitica as potential targets for anti-oomycete drugs.

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technology has been applied in a wide range of fields such as detection of foodborne bacteria and clinical pathogens due to its simplicity and efficiency. However, existing LAMP primer designing systems require a conserved gene or a short genome region as input, and they can’t design group-specific primers.

Huánglóngbìng (HLB), citrus greening, is one of the most destructive diseases of citrus plants worldwide. In North America, HLB is caused by the phloem-limited bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus and is transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri. No cure exists at present, and the use of antibiotics for the control of HLB has gained interest due to the significant losses to the citrus industry.

by Joelle K. Salazar, Vidya Natarajan, Diana Stewart, Quincy Suehr, Tanvi Mhetras, Lauren J. Gonsalves, Mary Lou Tortorello

ABSTRACT

Author(s): Saekil Yun, Seung-Jun Lee, Sib Sankar Giri, Hyoun Joong Kim, Sang Geun Kim, Sang Wha Kim, Se Jin Han, Jun Kwon, Woo Taek Oh, Se Chang Park

Author(s): Veronika Barišić, Ivana Flanjak, Ana Tot, Maja Budeč, Mirta Benšić, Antun Jozinović, Jurislav Babić, Drago Šubarić, Borislav Miličević, Đurđica Ačkar

Author(s): Angela Ma, Heather Glassman, Linda Chui

Author(s): Lin Chen, Xue Zhao, Ji'en Wu, Qin Liu, Xinyi Pang, Hongshun Yang

Author(s): Jing Zhao, Zhaorui Meng, Zexin Zhao, Longshan Zhao

Author(s): Aya Iwabuchi, Nonoka Katte, Mizuki Suwa, Junya Goto, Hideyuki Inui

Author(s): Miaomiao Hu, Dong Yang, Xiaoli Wu, Meng Luo, Feng Xu

Author(s): Junior Aristil, Giovanni Venturini, Giuliana Maddalena, Silvia Laura Toffolatti, Alberto Spada

Selective removal of bisphenol A from wastewater is quite challenging primarily because of its low concentration and matrix complexity. To this end, according to the molecular structure of bisphenol A, we designed a functional monomer for the preparation of molecularly imprinted mesoporous silica using click chemistry reaction.

Multidrug efflux pumps play an important role in bacterial multidrug resistance by actively excreting antibiotics. The ABC‐type drug efflux pump MacAB was originally recorded as a macrolide‐specific pump. MacAB is also known to be required for the virulence of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium following oral infection in mice.

Background Dairy farming feed can be contaminated with mycotoxins, affecting animals' health and milk quality. Dairy farming is also prone to occupational exposure to mycotoxins, and feed is recognized as a source of contamination in the workplace. An exploratory study was developed in a dairy farm located in Portugal intending to assess the mycotoxins present in the feed.

Background Fungicides are often applied to pears before kept in storage facilities. Scientific application of pesticides can reduce unnecessary exposure, which in turn could benefit both humans and the environment. Results We investigated dissipation behavior, residue distribution and conducted risk assessments for prochloraz, pyraclostrobin, and tebuconazole in pears stored under different conditions using ultra‐performance liquid chromatography.