Research Publications (Food Safety)

Bacteria in nature often encounter non‐antibiotic antibacterials (NAAs), such as disinfectants and heavy metals, and they can evolve resistance via mechanisms that are also involved in antibiotic resistance.

The Type VI Secretion System (T6SS) is a proteinaceous weapon used by many Gram‐negative bacteria to deliver toxins into adjacent target cells. Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium responsible for the fatal water‐borne cholera disease, uses the T6SS to evade phagocytic eukaryotes, cause intestinal inflammation, and compete against other bacteria with toxins that disrupt lipid membranes, cell walls and actin cytoskeletons. The control of T6SS genes varies among V.

Fresh fruits and vegetables have numerous benefits to human health. Unfortunately, their consumption is increasingly associated with food‐borne diseases, Salmonella enterica being their most frequent cause in Europe. Agricultural soils were postulated as reservoir of human pathogens, contributing to the contamination of crops during the growing period.

The antibiotic‐resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic‐resistant genes (ARGs) in human gut microbiota have significant impact on human health. Whilst high throughput metagenomic sequencing reveals genotypes of bacteria communities, the functionality, phenotype and heterogeneity of human gut microbiota are still elusive.

Sea level rise and the anthropogenic warming of the world's oceans is not only an environmental tragedy, but these changes also result in a significant threat to public health. Along with coastal flooding and the encroachment of saltwater farther inland comes an increased risk of human interaction with pathogenic Vibrio species, such as Vibrio cholerae, V. vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus.

Mercury (Hg) is a highly toxic and widely distributed heavy metal which some Bacteria and Archaea detoxify by the reduction of ionic Hg (Hg[II]) to the elemental volatile form, Hg(0). This activity is specified by the mer operon. The mer operon of the deeply‐branching thermophile Thermus thermophilus HB27 encodes for, an O‐acetyl‐L‐homoacetylserine sulfhydrylase (Oah2), a transcriptional regulator (MerR), a hypothetical protein (hp), and a mercuric reductase (MerA).

Populations of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae consist of dozens of distinct lineages, with primarily (but not exclusively) members of the pandemic generating (PG) lineage capable of causing the diarrheal disease cholera. Assessing composition and temporal dynamics of such populations requires extensive isolation efforts and thus only rarely covers large geographic areas or timeframes exhaustively.

Vibrio cholerae is a waterborne bacterium responsible for worldwide outbreaks of acute and fatal cholera. Recently, small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) have become increasingly recognized as important regulators of virulence gene expression in response to environmental signals. In this study, we determined that two component system EnvZ/OmpR was required for intestinal colonization in V. cholerae O1 EI Tor strain E12382.

Bacteria in nature are widely exposed to differential fluid shears which are often a trigger for phenotypic switches. The latter mediates transcriptional and translation remodeling of cellular metabolism impacting among others virulence, antimicrobial resistance and stress resistance.

Fusarium verticillioides is a fungal pathogen that is responsible for maize ear rot and stalk rot diseases worldwide. The fungus also produces carcinogenic mycotoxins, fumonisins, on infested maize. Unfortunately, we still lack clear understanding of how the pathogen responds to host and environmental stimuli to trigger fumonisin biosynthesis.

SUMMARY Non‐typhoidal Salmonella enterica (NTS) are diverse and important bacterial pathogens consisting of more than 2600 different serovars, with varying host‐specificity. Here, we characterized the poultry‐associated serovars in Israel, analyzed their resistome and illuminated the molecular mechanisms underlying common multidrug resistance (MDR) patterns.

Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus) is a pathogenic fungus that produces carcinogenic aflatoxins, posing a great threat to crops, animals and humans. Lysine acetylation is one of the most important reversible post‐translational modifications, and plays a vital regulatory role in various cellular processes. However, current information on the extent and function of lysine acetylation and aflatoxin biosynthesis in A. flavusis limited. Here, a global acetylome analysisof A.

Stone surfaces are extreme environments that support microbial life. This microbial growth occurs despite unfavourable conditions associated with stone including limited sources of nutrients and water, high pH and exposure to extreme variations in temperature, humidity and irradiation. These stone‐dwelling microbes are often resistant to extreme environments including exposure to desiccation, heavy metals, UV and Gamma irradiation.

Successful application of microorganisms to heavy metal remediation depends on their resistance to toxic metals. This study contrasted the differences of tolerant mechanisms between Pb2+ and Cd2+ in Enterobacter sp. Microbial respiration and production of formic acid showed that Enterobacter sp. had a higher tolerant concentration of Pb (>1000 mg l−1) than Cd (about 200 mg l−1). Additionally, SEM confirmed that most of Pb and Cd nanoparticles (NPs) were adsorbed onto cell membrane.

Iron is essential for most living organisms. In addition, its biogeochemical cycling influences important processes in the geosphere (e.g., the mobilization or immobilization of trace elements and contaminants). The reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II) can be catalysed microbially, particularly by metal‐respiring bacteria utilizing Fe(III) as a terminal electron acceptor.

A multidisciplinary approach was carried out in order to study the biodeterioration and the associated microbiome of a XVIII Century wax seal coloured with minium. A small wax seal fragment was observed by scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive spectroscopy in non‐destructive mode. The same object was analysed by Raman and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy.

This study determines the natural product biosynthesis and full coding potential within the bacterial genus Aquimarina. Using comprehensive phylogenomics and functional genomics, we reveal that phylogeny instead of isolation source [host‐associated (HA) vs. free‐living (FL) habitats] primarily shape the inferred metabolism of Aquimarina species.

While the dynamics of microbial community assembly driven by environmental perturbations have been extensively studied, our understanding is far from complete, particularly for light‐induced perturbations. Extremely halophilic communities thriving in coastal solar salterns are mainly influenced by two environmental factors ‐ salt concentrations and high sunlight irradiation.

Summary

Summary

Summary

Summary

Summary

Summary

Summary