Research Publications (Food Safety)

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) can be used therapeutically to treat a wide range of neuromuscular and neurological conditions. A collection of natural BoNT variants exists which can be classified into serologically distinct serotypes (BoNT/B), and further divided into subtypes (BoNT/B1, B2, …). BoNT subtypes share a high degree of sequence identity within the same serotype yet can display large variation in toxicity.

Forty-eight Pasteurella multocida isolates were recovered from porcine pneumonic lungs collected from farms in “Castilla y León” (north-western Spain) in 2017–2019. These isolates were characterized for their minimal inhibition concentrations to twelve antimicrobial agents and for the appearance of eight resistance genes: tetA, tetB, blaROB1, blaTEM, ermA, ermC, mphE and msrE.

Antibiotic resistance has been reported since the 1940s in both human and veterinary medicine. Many years of monitoring milk samples in South Africa led to identification of a novel maltose-negative Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) strain, which appears to be an emerging pathogen. In this study, the susceptibility of this strain to antibiotics was evaluated over time, during diverse seasons in various provinces and according to somatic cell count (SCC) categories.

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of gamma irradiation (0, 2.5, and 5 kGy) on physico‐mechanical and structural characteristics of films based on Farsi gum‐carboxymethyl cellulose supplemented with Ziziphora clinopodioides essential oil (ZEO; 0%, 1%, and 2%) and lignocellulose nanofibers (LCNF; 0%, 1%, and 2%), and their application on fresh minced beef meat's shelf‐life during refrigerated temperature (4 ± 1 °C) for 16 days.

In this study, total RNA was extracted from young leaves of maize. Reverse transcription‐PCR (RT‐PCR) method was used to obtain full‐length TGase gene. The amplified fragment was sequenced to have 1,605 bp. The gene consisted of 535 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 60.9 kD. It was identical to the published TGase gene (GenBank NO.AJ421525). The TGase fragment was cloned into pET‐28a prokaryotic expression vector.

Free radicals produced during oxidation on the one hand and food contaminated with food source microorganisms on the other hand are serious threats to human health which increase the need to use natural compounds to replace synthetic and chemical substances used. In the present study, the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the cinnamon extract was investigated during hamburger meat storage.

Cadmium (Cd) is a common toxic heavy metal in the environment, and bacteria have evolved different strategies against Cd‐toxicity. Here we found that marine bacterium Bacillus sp. 98 could significantly alleviate Cd‐toxicity by recruiting calcium (Ca) for reducing excessive intracellular nitric oxide (NO) and enhancing iron acquisition. To investigate the underlying mechanisms, mass spectrometry‐based proteomic analysis was applied to Bacillus sp.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are powerful microbial inhibitors with high potential in food preservation, despite this, their use as preservatives is very limited and one of the main reasons is the concern about their stability to food processing conditions. This manuscript offers a different view of the application of AMPs in food preservation, addressing the relationship between food processing parameters such as pH, temperature and proteases, and their influence on antimicrobial activity.

The Tasmanian salmon industry had remained relatively free of major viral diseases until the emergence of pilchard orthomyxovirus (POMV). Originally isolated from wild pilchards, POMV is of concern to the industry as it can cause high mortality in farmed salmon (Salmo salar). Field observations suggest the virus can spread from pen to pen and between farms, but evidence of passive transmission in sea water was unclear.

Bisphenol A (BPA), an imperative environmental contaminant used in polycarbonate plastics. Due to limited information concerning the effect of BPA on lungs, this study design to assess whether BPA cause alterations in histopathology and trace metal content in lungs of rats. They were divided into five groups with five rats per group. Group I was named as control group. Group L6 and L12 were received BPA (10 mg/kg body weight/day) for 6 weeks and 12 weeks respectively.

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major causes of death related to antimicrobial resistance worldwide because of the spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis multi- and extensively drug resistant (multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR), respectively) clinical isolates. To fight MDR and XDR tuberculosis, three new antitubercular drugs, bedaquiline (BDQ), delamanid, and pretomanid were approved for use in clinical setting.

Fungi have increased tolerance to environmental stress (also related to the access of pollutants, e.g., trace elements and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAHs). The aim of the study was to evaluate the mycobiome and functional diversity of fungi in long-term crude-oil contaminated soils as the potential bioremediators of oil contaminated sites.

Salicornia ramosissima is a C3 halophyte that grows naturally in South Western Spain salt marshes, under soil salinity and heavy metal pollution (mostly Cu, Zn, As, and Pb) caused by both natural and anthropogenic pressure. However, very few works have reported the phytoremediation potential of S. ramosissima. In this work, we studied a microbe-assisted phytoremediation strategy under greenhouse conditions.

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic bacterium of the human body and a leading cause of nosocomial infections. Methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections involving biofilm lead to higher mortality and morbidity in patients. Biofilm causes serious clinical issues, as it mitigates entry of antimicrobials to reach the etiological agents. It plays an important role in resilient chronic infections which place an unnecessary burden on antibiotics and the associated costs.

Despite the continuous emergence of multi-drug resistant pathogens, the number of new antimicrobials reaching the market is critically low. Natural product peptides are a rich source of bioactive compounds, and advances in mass spectrometry have achieved unprecedented capabilities for the discovery and characterization of novel molecular species.

Chicken skin is considered the most susceptible to bacterial contamination during slaughter. It is rich in bushy feather follicles with complex internal structures that can absorb bacteria via cross-contamination during slaughter. Until now, the microstructural changes and local bacterial composition of feather follicles during slaughter have not been thoroughly investigated.

Objectives: To evaluate metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) as a diagnostic tool in detecting pathogens from osteoarticular infection (OAI) samples.

Methods: 130 samples of joint fluid, sonicate fluid, and tissue were prospectively collected from 92 patients with OAI. The performance of mNGS and microbiology culture was compared pairwise.

ABSTRACT

This publication reports the availability of draft genome sequences of 171 Listeria monocytogenes strains isolated from various food-related sources from California between 2007 and 2017. All isolates contain at least two antimicrobial resistance genes.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is a foodborne pathogen transmitted from animals to humans through contaminated food. Cattle are the main reservoir of STEC, but their genetic diversity is still poorly characterized, especially regarding strains isolated in Portugal. We therefore present the draft genomic sequences of 12 STEC strains isolated from cattle in the north of Portugal.

ABSTRACT

Author(s): Silvia Guillén, María Marcén, Ignacio Álvarez, Pilar Mañas, Guillermo Cebrián

Author(s): Xiao-long Hou, Hang Han, Mulualem Tigabu, Qi-yan Li, Zong-xun Li, Chen-lu Zhu, Si-qi Huang, Li-ping Cai, Ai-qin Liu

Author(s): Mustafa Oguzhan Caglayan, Zafer Üstündağ