Research Publications (Food Safety)

This work analyzes the high-pressure (HP) germination of spores of the food-borne pathogen Clostridium perfringens (with inner membrane [IM] germinant receptors [GRs]) and the opportunistic pathogen Clostridium difficile (with no IM GRs), which has growing implications as an emerging food safety threat. In contrast to those of spores of Bacillus species, mechanisms of HP germination of clostridial spores have not been well studied.

From raw milk we found 10 Lactococcus garvieae isolates that produce a new broad-spectrum bacteriocin. Though the isolates were obtained from different farms, they turned out to possess identical inhibitory spectra, fermentation profiles of sugars, and repetitive sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) DNA patterns, indicating that they produce the same bacteriocin. One of the isolates (L. garvieae KS1546) was chosen for further assessment.

Adenovirus is the most prevalent enteric virus in waters worldwide due to its environmental stability, which leads to public health concerns. Mitigation strategies are therefore required. The aim of this study was to assess the inactivation of human adenovirus type 5 (HAdV-5) by gamma radiation in aqueous environments.

The temperature-dependent alteration of flagellar motility gene expression is critical for the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes to respond to a changing environment. In this study, a genetic determinant, L. monocytogenes f2365_0220 (lmof2365_0220), encoding a putative protein that is structurally similar to the Bacillus cereus alkyl base DNA glycosylase (AlkD), was identified.

Online Ahead of Print.

Salmonella enteritidis (SE) is a major foodborne pathogen that causes human infections largely by consumption of contaminated eggs. The external surface of eggs becomes contaminated with SE from multiple sources, highlighting the need for effective egg surface disinfection methods.

The present study investigated the prevalence, antimicrobial resistance to twenty antibiotics, and class 1 integron and virulence genes of Salmonella isolated from poultry houses of broilers in northwestern Spain between 2011 and 2015. Strains were classified to the serotype level using the Kauffman-White typing scheme and subtyping with enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus PCR. The prevalence of Salmonella spp. was 1.02%. Sixteen different serotypes were found, with S.

A survey on the prevalence of Salmonella (S.) species was carried out on 39 layer farms in Kosovo between April and September 2012. In total 367 samples, comprising feces, dust, eggs, and internal organs from dead birds, were investigated using bacteriological culture methods. Additionally, data on the location of the farm, the total number of birds on the farm, age of birds, and laying performance were collected. Salmonella were isolated from 38 samples obtained from 19 (49%) farms.

Abstract

Aims

To investigate the virulence of the Vp_PirAB-like genes in Vibrio parahaemolyticus-AHPND causing strain and factors that associate with the virulence level.

Publication date: Available online 11 August 2016
Food and Chemical Toxicology

Author(s): In-Chul Lee, Je-Won Ko, Sung-Hyeuk Park, In-Sik Shin, Changjong Moon, Sung-Ho Kim, Yun-Bae Kim, Jong-Choon Kim

Mycotoxin contamination threatens health and life of humans and animals throughout the food supply chains. Many of the mycotoxins have been proven to be carcinogens, teratogens and mutagens. The reliable and sensitive sensing methods are requested to monitor mycotoxin contamination. Advanced sensors based on antibodies or aptamers boast the advantages of high sensitivity and rapidity, and have been used in the mycotoxin sensing.

Abstract

Publication date: Available online 10 August 2016


Author(s): Xiaomei Yan, Zongwei Li, Monika A. Chlebowicz, Xiaoxia Tao, Ming Ni, Yuan Hu, Zhen Li, Hajo Grundmann, Susan Murray, Ben Pascoe, Samuel K. Sheppard, Xiaochen Bo, Jan Maarten van Dijl, Pengcheng Du, Minli Zhang, Yuanhai You, Xiaojie Yu, Fanliang Meng, Shengqi Wang, Jianzhong Zhang

Adam Perczak, Krzysztof Juś, Katarzyna Marchwińska, Daniela Gwiazdowska, Agnieszka Waśkiewicz, Piotr Goliński

Laura Coquereau, Aurélie Jolivet, Hélène Hégaret, Laurent Chauvaud

Publication date: 7 November 2016
, Volume 236

Author(s): Lucía da Cruz Cabral, Laura Terminiello, Virginia Fernández Pinto, Kristian Fog Nielsen, Andrea Patriarca

Lukasz Drewniak, Pawel S. Krawczyk, Sebastian Mielnicki, Dorota Adamska, Adam Sobczak, Leszek Lipinski, Weronika Burec-Drewniak, Aleksandra Sklodowska

Shigella spp. cause ≈500,000 illnesses in the United States annually, and resistance to ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, and azithromycin is emerging. We investigated associations between transmission route and antimicrobial resistance among US shigellosis clusters reported during 2011–2015. Of 32 clusters, 9 were caused by shigellae resistant to ciprofloxacin (3 clusters), ceftriaxone (2 clusters), or azithromycin (7 clusters); 3 clusters were resistant to >1 of these drugs.

C2-toxin from Clostridium botulinum and Iota-toxin from Clostridium perfringens belong both to the binary A-B-type of toxins consisting of two separately secreted components, an enzymatic subunit A and a binding component B that facilitates the entry of the corresponding enzymatic subunit into the target cells. The enzymatic subunits are in both cases actin ADP-ribosyltransferases that modify R177 of globular actin finally leading to cell death.

Robert A. Kazmierczak, Bettina Gentry, Tyler Mumm, Heide Schatten, Abraham Eisenstark

Kwesi Teye, Sanae Numata, Norito Ishii, Rafal P. Krol, Atsunari Tsuchisaka, Takahiro Hamada, Hiroshi Koga, Tadashi Karashima, Chika Ohata, Daisuke Tsuruta, Hideyuki Saya, Marek Haftek, Takashi Hashimoto

Abstract

During 2013, ST278 Klebsiella pneumoniae with blaNDM-7 was isolated from the urine (KpN01) and rectum (KpN02) of a patient in Calgary, Canada. The same strain (KpN04) was subsequently isolated from another patient in the same unit. Interestingly, a carbapenem-susceptible K. pneumoniae ST278 (KpN06) was obtained 1 month later from the blood of the second patient.

There is growing evidence that Zika virus (ZIKV) can cause devastating infant brain defects and other neurological disorders in humans. However, no specific antiviral therapy is available at present.