Research Publications (Food Safety)

Environmental Microbiology, Volume 23, Issue 12, Page 7314-7340, December 2021. Vibrio spp. thrive in warm water and moderate salinity, and they are associated with aquatic invertebrates, notably crustaceans and zooplankton. At least 12 Vibrio spp. are known to cause infection in humans, and Vibrio cholerae is well documented as the etiological agent of pandemic cholera.

Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView.

Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView.

Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView.

Environmental Microbiology, Volume 23, Issue 11, Page 6364-6376, November 2021.

Environmental Microbiology, Volume 23, Issue 11, Page 6749-6763, November 2021.

Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article.

Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView.

Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView. Antibiotics and heavy metals are used to treat and prevent bacterial infections in humans and food-producing animals (Argudín et al., 2019; WHO, 2021).

Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView.

Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView.

Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous pollutants threatening ecosystems and human health. Here, we isolated and characterized a new strain, Hydrogenibacillus sp. N12, which is a thermophilic PAH-degrader. Strain N12 utilizes naphthalene as a sole carbon and energy source above 60°C and co-metabolizes many other PAHs as well.

Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView. Cadmium is a highly toxic heavy metal that causes many harmful effects on human health and ecosystems. Metal chelation-based techniques have become a common approach for the treatment of metal poisoning and also for the remediation of metal contamination. Phosphate, an essential nutrient required for key cellular functions, has been supposed to be effective in reducing cadmium bioavailability, possibly through its chelating potential.

Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView. Wild birds are common reservoirs of Salmonella enterica. Wild birds carrying resistant S. enterica may pose a risk to public health as they can spread the resistant bacteria across large spatial scales within a short time. Here, we whole-genome sequenced 375 S. enterica strains from wild birds collected in 41 U.S. states during 1978–2019 to examine bacterial resistance to antibiotics and heavy metals. We found that Typhimurium was the dominant S.

Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. Studies have shown that ruminants constitute reservoirs of Listeria monocytogenes, but little is known about the epidemiology and genetic diversity of this pathogen within farms. Here we conducted a large-scale longitudinal study to monitor Listeria spp. in 19 dairy farms during three consecutive seasons (N=3251 samples). L. innocua was the most prevalent species, followed by L. monocytogenes. L.

Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. Myst family are highly conserved histone acetyltransferases in eukaryotic cells and are known to play crucial roles in various cellular processes, however, acetylation catalyzed by acetyltransferases is unclear in filamentous fungi. Here, we identified two classical nonessential Myst enzymes and analyzed their functions in Aspergillus flavus, which generates aflatoxin B1, one of the most carcinogenic secondary metabolites.

Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView. Listeria monocytogenes, the causative agent of listeriosis, has been implicated in increasing foodborne outbreaks worldwide. The disease is manifested in various forms ranging from severe sepsis in immune-compromised individuals, febrile gastroenteritis, still birth, abortions and meningoencephalitis. In India, data from studies on the detection and molecular epidemiological analysis of L. monocytogenes are only recently emerging.

Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. The in vitro antibacterial efficacy of an in-house designed cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) variant of Cecropin A (1–7)-Melittin (CAMA) (CAMA-CPP) against the characterized multi-drug resistant (MDR) field strains of and Salmonella Typhimurium were evaluated and compared with two identified CPPs namely, P7 and APP, keeping CAMA as control.

Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. Antimicrobials are commonly used in prevention of infections including in aquaculture, agriculture and medicine. Subinhibitory concentrations of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) can modulate resistance, virulence and persistence effectors in Gram-negative pathogens.

Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. ABSTRACT

Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. Dairy cattle mastitis has long been one of the most common and costly diseases in dairy industry worldwide, due to its significant impact on milk production and animal welfare. Among all mastitis causing bacterial pathogens, Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) causes the largest milk loss. To better understand the genomic features of this population, 180 K. pneumoniae strains isolated from dairy cattle mastitis milk in 11 U.S.

Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. Penicillium expansum, as the causal agent of blue mould and a main producer of mycotoxin patulin, is a global concern for economic and food safety. To date, the nutritional requirements of the pathogen during infection and patulin biosynthesis are poorly understood. Here, we genetically characterized the role of the bZIP transcription factor PeMetR in sulphur metabolism, virulence and patulin biosynthesis of P. expansum.

Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. Expansion of mcr-carrying Enterobacteriaceae (MCR-E) is a well-recognized problem affecting animals, humans and the environment. Ongoing global control actions involve colistin restrictions among food-animal production, but their impact on poultry-derived products is largely unknown, justifying comprehensive farm-to-fork studies.

Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article.

Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. Ras subfamily proteins are molecular switches in signal transduction pathways of many eukaryotes that regulate a variety of cellular processes. Here, the Ras subfamily, encoded by six genes, was identified in Aspergillus flavus: rasA, rasB, rasC, rab-33, rheb and rsr1. The rsr1 deletion mutant (∆rsr1), rheb deletion mutant (∆rheb), and double deletion mutant (∆rheb/rsr1) displayed significantly decreased growth and sporulation.