Research Publications (Food Safety)

Background
The natural hosts of Shigella are typically humans and other primates, but it has been shown that the host range of Shigella has expanded to many animals. Although Shigella is becoming a major threat to animals, there is limited information on the genetic background of local strains. The purpose of this study was to assess the presence of virulence factors and the molecular characteristics of S. flexneri isolated from calves with diarrhea.

This study evaluated the effects of early intervention with Clostridium butyricum (C. butyricum) on shaping the intestinal microbiota of Muscovy ducklings. A total of 160 1-day-old male ducks were randomly divided into two groups: the CB group was administered with 1 mL of C. butyricum (2 × 109 CFU/mL), while the C group was given 1 mL of saline. The administration lasted for 3 days. We found that C. butyricum had no significant effect on growth performance.

Background

Gut microbiota plays an important role in the pathogenesis of immune-mediated diseases. However, the complex pathogenesis of Henoch-Schonlein Purpura (HSP) remains elusive. This study aimed to characterize the gut microbiota in HSP patients and explore the potential association between gut microbiota composition and phenotypic changes in HSP.

Methods

Author(s): Albert Moreno-Mingorance, Paula Espinal, Virginia Rodriguez, Lidia Goterris, Anna Fàbrega, Judit Serra-Pladevall, M. Jesús Barberà, M. Alberny, Héctor Martín-González, Thais Cornejo-Sánchez, Mayuli Armas, Alba Mir-Cros, Alex Raventós, Belén Viñado, T. Pumarola, M.N. Larrosa, Juan José González-López

The problem of antibiotic resistance has prompted researchers around the globe to search for new antimicrobial agents. Antimicrobial proteins and peptides are naturally secreted by almost all the living organisms to fight infections and can be safer alternatives to chemical antibiotics. Lactoferrin (LF) is a known antimicrobial protein present in all body secretions.

Escherichia coli (EHEC) and Shigella dysenteriae serotype 1 are enterohemorrhagic bacteria that induce hemorrhagic colitis. This, in turn, may result in potentially lethal complications, such as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which is characterized by thrombocytopenia, acute renal failure, and neurological abnormalities.

Stingless bees are the main pollinators in tropical and subtropical regions. However, there are only a few studies on the structure and composition of bacteria in the gut and beebread of stingless bees, especially in China. To address this shortage of information, we characterized the microbiota of three common species of stingless bees (Lepidotrigona terminata, Lepidotrigona ventralis and Tetragonula pagdeni) and beebread samples of T. pagdeni.

Author(s): Feng Chen, Xiang Miao, Zixin Lin, Yu Xiu, Lingling Shi, Qian Zhang, Dongcheng Liang, Shanzhi Lin, Boxiang He

Shigella flexneri, causative agent of bacillary dysentery (shigellosis), uses a type III secretion system (T3SS) as its primary virulence factor. The T3SS injectisome delivers effector proteins into host cells to promote entry and create an important intracellular niche. The injectisome’s cytoplasmic sorting platform (SP) is a critical assembly that contributes to substrate selection and energizing secretion.

by Andrew B. Kouse, Francesco Righetti, Jens Kortmann, Franz Narberhaus, Erin R. Murphy

This study aimed to investigate the chemical composition and the activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (ATCC 25923), Streptococcus pyogenes (S. pyogenes) (ATCC 19615), Escherichia coli (E. coli) (ATCC 25922), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) (ATCC 27853), Shigella flexneri (S. flexneri) (ATCC 12022), Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium) (ATCC 14028), Haemophillus influenzae (H. influenza) type B (ATCC 10211) and two fungal strains: Candida albicans (C.

In a cohort of infants, we found that lack of the Lewis histo-blood group antigen was associated with increased susceptibility to shigellosis. Broadly inhibiting fucosylation in epithelial cells in vitro decreased invasion by Shigella flexneri. These results support a role for fucosylated glycans in susceptibility to shigellosis.

Background Prolonged enteropathogen shedding after diarrhea complicates the identification of etiology in subsequent episodes and is an important driver of pathogen transmission. A standardized approach has not been applied to estimate the duration of shedding for a wide range of pathogens.

Journal of Food Science, EarlyView. This study was designed to investigate the prevalence and associated risk factors of Shigella flexneri isolated from drinking water and retail raw food samples in Peshawar, Pakistan. A total of 1,020 different samples were collected from various areas of Peshawar between January 2016 and May 2017, followed by identification of S. flexneri through biochemical, serological, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

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.

Author(s): Iqbal Nisa, Muhammad Qasim, Arnold Driessen, Jeroen Nijland, Fazal Adnan, Malik Nawaz Shuja, Hazir Rahman

Background Azithromycin is frequently used to treat shigellosis; however, clinical outcomes are uncertain. Methods We performed an observational cohort study in Bangladesh of patients with invasive diarrhea treated empirically with azithromycin. Susceptibility testing was performed by broth microdilution and disk diffusion post hoc on all Shigella isolates and clinical response was correlated with in vitro susceptibility.

Shigella is a leading cause of moderate-to-severe diarrhea globally and the causative agent of shigellosis and bacillary dysentery. Associated with 80 to 165 million cases of diarrhea and >13% of diarrheal deaths, in many regions, Shigella exposure is ubiquitous while infection is heterogenous.

by Nirupama Shivakumar, Ambily Sivadas, Sarita Devi, Farook Jahoor, John McLaughlin, Craig P. Smith, Anura V. Kurpad, Arpita Mukhopadhyay

The foodborne pathogen Yersinia enterocolitica causes gastrointestinal infections worldwide. In the spring of 2019, the Swedish Public Health Agency and Statens Serum Institut in Denmark independently identified an outbreak caused by Yersinia enterocolitica 4/O:3 that after sequence comparison turned out to be a cross-border outbreak. A trace-back investigation suggested shipments of fresh prewashed spinach from Italy as a common source for the outbreak.

The ocular surface possesses its own bacterial microbiota. Once given a chance, opportunistic pathogens within ocular microbiota may lead to corneal infection like bacterial keratitis (BK). To reveal the possible factor that makes people vulnerable to BK from the perspective of ocular bacterial microbiota, as well as to compare diagnostic information provided by high-throughput 16S rDNA sequencing and bacterial culture, 20 patients with BK and 42 healthy volunteers were included.

ABSTRACT Many cytosolic bacterial pathogens hijack the host actin polymerization machinery to form actin tails that promote direct cell-to-cell spread, enabling these pathogens to avoid extracellular immune defenses. However, these pathogens are still susceptible to intracellular cell-autonomous immune responses that restrict bacterial actin-based motility.

Increasing antimicrobial resistance and limited alternative treatments have led to fluoroquinolone-resistant Shigella strain inclusion on the WHO global priority pathogens list.

Developing effective therapeutics or preventive interventions for important health threats is greatly enhanced whenever accessible models can enable the assessment of clinically important outcomes. While no non-human model is ever perfect, inexpensive in vivo small animal models in such as mice are often of great help in assessing the relevant efficacy of potential interventions.