Research Publications (Food Safety)

Yersinia pestis is the etiological agent of plague, a deadly infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths throughout history. Obtaining iron from the host is very important for bacterial pathogenicity. Y. pestis possesses many iron uptake systems. Yersiniabactin (Ybt) plays a major role in iron uptake in vivo and in vitro, and in virulence toward mice as well. FyuA, a β-barrel TonB-dependent outer membrane protein, serves as the receptor for Ybt.

The use of molecular diagnostics for pathogen detection in epidemiological studies have allowed us to get a wider view of the pathogens associated with diarrhea, but the presence of enteropathogens in asymptomatic individuals has raised several challenges in understanding the etiology of diarrhea, and the use of these platforms in clinical diagnosis as well.

Yersinia pestis, Brucella spp., and Bacillus anthracis are pathogens that can cause infectious zoonotic diseases with high mortality rates. An upconverting phosphor-based quantitative immunochromatographic (UPT-LF) assay, a point-of-care testing method suitable for resource-limited areas, was calibrated to quantitatively detect pathogenic bacteria. The bacterial purity or activity were ensured via staining methods and growth curves, respectively.

Brucellosis is a serious zoonosis occurring mainly in developing countries, and its diagnosis is largely dependent on serologic detection and bacterial culture. In this study, we developed the murine monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against a conserved and major outer membrane protein 25 (Omp25) of Brucella species (B. spp.) for use in clinical diagnosis.

Jussa-Pekka Virtanen, Riikka Keto-Timonen, Kaisa Jaakkola, Noora Salin, Hannu Korkeala Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is a bacterium that not only survives, but also thrives, proliferates, and remains infective at cold-storage temperatures, making it an adept foodborne pathogen. We analyzed the differences in gene expression between Y. pseudotuberculosis IP32953 grown at 3 and 28°C to investigate which genes were significantly more expressed at low temperature at different phases of growth.

Karolina Jaworska, Marta Nieckarz, Marta Ludwiczak, Adrianna Raczkowska, Katarzyna Brzostek

Jeffrey K. Schachterle, Ryan M. Stewart, M. Brett Schachterle, Joshua T. Calder, Huan Kang, John T. Prince, David L. Erickson

Chang Liu, Chuchu Li, Yuhuang Chen, Huijing Hao, Junrong Liang, Ran Duan, Zhaoke Guo, Jing Zhang, Zhongzhi Zhao, Huaiqi Jing, Xin Wang, Shihe Shao

Marta Nieckarz, Adrianna Raczkowska, Karolina Jaworska, Ewa Stefańska, Karolina Skorek, Dorota Stosio, Katarzyna Brzostek

Haoshu Yang, Wenpeng Gu, Haiyan Qiu, Guixiang Sun, Junrong Liang, Kewei Li, Yuchun Xiao, Ran Duan, Huaiqi Jing, Xin Wang

Sofie Ekestubbe, Jeanette E. Bröms, Tomas Edgren, Maria Fällman, Matthew S. Francis, Åke Forsberg