Research Publications (Food Safety)

Author(s): Chao Yang, Min Li, Bangzhu Peng

Sixteen metabolites, including seven C7-alkylated salicylaldehyde derivatives (1–7) and nine prenylated indole alkaloids (8–16), three of which are new, namely, asperglaucins A and B (1 and 2) and neoechinulin F (8), were separated from the endolichenic fungus Aspergillus chevalieri SQ-8. Asperglaucin A (1) represents an unusual phthalide-like derivative with a benzo[c]thiophen-1(3H)-one scaffold.

Anthropogenic contamination of coastal-marine water is responsible for introducing multidrug-resistant bacteria such as the pNDM-harbouring Escherichia coli into the seafood chain. This study was conducted to understand the survivability of a multidrug-resistant, the New Delhi Metallo-β-lactamase-producing E. coli (AS-EC121) in tropical seawater at room temperature (28–32 °C) compared to E. coli K12 strain.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), originating from anthropogenic and natural sources, are highly concerned environmental pollutants. This study investigated the impact of two model PAHs (pyrene and phenanthrene) on bacterial community succession in the seagrass meadows sediment in a lab-scale microcosm. Halophila ovalis sediment slurry microcosms were established, one group was placed as a control, and the other two were treated with pyrene and phenanthrene.

A rapid, simple, and sensitive method of detecting veterinary drug residues in animal food sources, including poultry and pork, was developed and validated. The method was optimized for over 155 veterinary drugs of 21 different classes. Sample pretreatment included a simple solid-liquid extraction step with 0.2% formic acid-acetonitrile-water and a purification step with a PRiME HLB (hydrophile-lipophile balance) solid-phase extraction cartridge.

Cyanobacteria stand out among phytoplankton when they form massive blooms and produce toxins. Because cyanotoxin genes date to the origin of metazoans, the hypothesis that cyanotoxins function as a defense against herbivory is still debated. Although their primary cellular function might vary, these metabolites could have evolved as an anti-predator response.

Recent surveys report the occurrence of Aspergillus and Penicillium metabolites (aflatoxins (AFLs), ochratoxin A (OTA), cyclopiazonic and mycophenolic acids (MPA), sterigmatocystin (STC), citrinin), Fusarium (trichothecenes, zearalenone (ZEA), fumonisins (FBs), enniatins (ENNs)) and Alternaria (alternariol (AOH), its methyl ether (AME), tentoxin (TE), and tenuazonic acid (TNZ)) toxins in dry Camellia sinensis and herbal tea samples.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, EarlyView. There is a recent and growing interest in the study and application of non-Saccharomyces yeasts, mainly in fermented foods. Numerous publications and patents show the importance of these yeasts.

Journal of Applied Microbiology, Accepted Article. Aims
Vibrio (V.) parahaemolyticus is one of the most frequently occurred pathogens in mariculture. This study aimed to explore the mechanism of the impact of Ulva fasciata (U. fasciata) on the motility and biofilm formation of V. parahaemolyticus.

The present work aimed to evaluate the health risks of occupational exposure to heavy metals in a steel casting unit of a steel plant. To determine occupational exposure to heavy metals, personal air samples were taken from the workers’ breathing zones using the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health method. Noncancer and cancer risks due to the measured metals were calculated according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency procedures.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus, the leading cause of seafood-associated gastroenteritis worldwide, has a strong ability to form biofilms on surfaces. Quorum sensing (QS) is a process widely used by bacteria to communicate with each other and control gene expression via the secretion and detection of autoinducers. OpaR is the master QS regulator of V. parahaemolyticus operating under high cell density (HCD). OpaR regulation of V.

The whole genome of Weissella cibaria strain UTNGt21O isolated from wild fruits of Solanum quitoense (naranjilla) shrub was sequenced and annotated. The similarity proportions based on the genus level, as a result of the best hits for the entire contig, were 54.84% with Weissella, 6.45% with Leuconostoc, 3.23% with Lactococcus, and 35.48% no match. The closest genome was W. cibaria SP7 (GCF_004521965.1) with 86.21% average nucleotide identity (ANI) and 3.2% alignment coverage.

Cronobacter sakazakii (C. sakazakii) is an emerging opportunistic foodborne pathogen that can cause neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis, meningitis, sepsis in neonates and infants with a relatively high mortality rate. Bacterial transcytosis across the human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC) is vital for C. sakazakii to induce neonatal meningitis. However, few studies focus on the mechanisms by which C. sakazakii translocates HBMEC. In this study, the translocation processes of C.

The release of Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 has been widely found in various environments, but little is known about the probable influence of the transient E. coli O157:H7 invasion on the native microbial community. Here, we investigated the temporal response of two bacterial biospheres (abundant and rare) of two marsh sediments against E. coli O157:H7 during a 60-day incubation. The diversity of both biospheres showed no evident response to O157:H7 invasion.

Breast milk acts as an intermediary for the transfer of functionally important commensal bacteria from mother to infant, especially for Bifidobacterium that can colonize the infant gut. However, the vast majority of rRNA amplicon-based studies reported the conspicuous intercohort and interindividual variation for the prevalence of Bifidobacterium in breast milk.

Author(s): Giuseppe Bonifazi, Giuseppe Capobianco, Riccardo Gasbarrone, Silvia Serranti

Author(s): Delia Castilla-Fernández, David Moreno-González, Marcos Bouza, Andrea Saez-Gómez, Evaristo Ballesteros, Juan F. García-Reyes, Antonio Molina-Díaz

Author(s): Stephanie Arellano, Bibiana Law, Mendel Friedman, Sadhana Ravishankar

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

Author(s): Qian Chen, Qun Li, Ailing Guo, Ling Liu, Lihong Gu, WuKang Liu, Xinshuai Zhang, Yao Ruan

Journal of Applied Microbiology, Accepted Article. Aims
This study aimed to identify the genotypic fingerprinting of B. melitensis biovar 3 isolates from ruminants in Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt, to compare with other peers globally, and to highlight the epidemiology and potential causes of brucellosis control failure.

Background

Author(s): Panyang He, Yaojun Zhang, Xiaomin Zhang, Hao Chen

Author(s): Harvey E. Indyk, Jackie E. Wood, Brendon D. Gill

Author(s): Daniel Martín-Vertedor, Antonio Fernández, Marta Mesías, Manuel Martínez, Elisabet Martín-Tornero