ABSTACT: Thirty-two isolates were obtained from wheat rhizosphere by wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). Most isolates were able to produce indole acetic acid (65.6%) and siderophores (59.3%), as well as exhibited phosphate solubilization (96.8%). Fourteen isolates displayed three plant growth-promoting traits. Among these strains, two phosphate-dissolving ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Sexual reproduction is common in eukaryotic microorganisms, with few species reproducing exclusively asexually. However, in some organisms, such as fungi, asexual reproduction alternates with episodic sexual reproduction events. Fungi are thus appropriate organisms for studies of the reasons for the selection of sexuality or clonality and of the ...

During a survey of the prevalence of Candida spp. in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria, two atypical C. albicans isolates were recovered. These two yeasts were germ tube positive, chlamydospore-negative and gave a green color on CHROMagar Candida. Molecular analysis performed by amplification of the hwp1 gene showed that these two ...

Outbred laboratory animal strains used in ecotoxicology are intended to represent wild populations. However, breeding history may vary considerably between strains, driving differences in genetic variation and phenotypes used for assessing effects of chemical exposure. We compared a range of phenotypic endpoints in zebrafish from four different "breeding treatments" comprising ...

The strain theory of suicide postulates that suicide is usually preceded by psychological strains. A strain can be a consequence of any of four conflicts: differential values, aspiration and reality, relative deprivation, and lack of coping skills for a crisis. This study, with a blend of psychiatric and social predictors ...

The aim of this study was to detect Shiga toxins (stx1 and stx2), enterohaemolysin (EhlyA) and intimin (eaeA) virulence genes of 11 Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains isolated from faecal samples of 300 clinically healthy Anatolian water buffaloes by PCR. Multiplex PCR was used for the detection of stx1 and stx2, ...

Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) is annually incriminated in more than 100,000 cases of enteric foodborne human disease and in losses amounting to $US 2.5 billion every year. A number of genotyping methods have been developed to track VTEC infections and determine diversity and evolutionary relationships among these microorganisms. These methods ...

Alfalfa and other seed sprouts have been implicated in several Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp. human illness outbreaks in the U.S. Continuing food safety issues with alfalfa seeds necessitate the need for discovery and use of novel and effective antimicrobials. The potential use of caprylic acid (CA) and monocaprylin ...

Aims:  To evaluate the in vitro bactericidal efficacy of lactoferrin (LF), its amidated (AMILF) and pepsin-digested (PDLF) derivatives, and their combinations, on Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Serratia liquefaciens. Methods and Results:  PDLF exhibited the most potent bactericidal efficacy on E. coli O157:H7 (>2·5 log(10)  CFU ml(-1) reduction at concentrations ≥1 mg ml(-1) ), and ...

Objectives  To investigate the microbiological quality and the presence of antibiotic residues in raw cow milk and in some indigenous milk products produced and marketed by the informal sector in the coastal savannah zone of Ghana. Methods  Milk samples were aseptically collected from 224 kraals and samples of 26 indigenous ...

Compost made from livestock manure is commonly used as a crop fertilizer and serves as a possible vehicle for the transmission of Escherichia coli O157:H7 to fresh produce. In this study, we hypothesized that the indigenous microbial communities present in composts adversely affects the survival of E. coli O157:H7. Escherichia ...

To evaluate seasonal patterns and risk factors for Escherichia coli O157:H7 in feces in a beef cattle herd and determine strain diversity and transition in E coli over time by use of multiple-locus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). 456 samples of freshly passed feces collected over ...

Abstract The objectives of this study were to compare the performance of different diagnostic protocols (rectoanal mucosal swabs and immunomagnetic separation [RAMS-IMS], fecal samples and IMS [fecal-IMS], and direct plating) to determine the prevalence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and to evaluate the pattern of E. coli O157:H7 shedding and super-shedding ...

A new practice whereby wet slurry is added daily to the cattle manure bedding at the barn and cultivated has been developed in Israel. The objective of the present study was to examine the effect of manure cultivation on the persistence of Escherichia coli in a model system. A cow ...

The influence of aerobic and anaerobic conditions on the survival of the enteropathogens Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella serovar Typhimurium was investigated in microcosms with broth, cattle manure or slurry. These substrates were inoculated with a green fluorescent protein transformed strain of the enteropathogens at 10(7) cells g(-1) dry weight. ...

The distribution of insertion sequence (IS) 629 among strains of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli serovar O157 (O157) was investigated and compared with the strain lineages defined by lineage specific polymorphism assay-6 (LSPA-6) to demonstrate the effectiveness of IS629 analysis for population genetics analysis. Using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and variable-number tandem repeat ...

GMAC, a modified version of Sorbitol MacConkey medium (SMAC), was produced with a reduced quantity of selective agents and incorporated gentiobiose. GMAC supported a higher recovery rate of heat- or acid-injured Escherichia coli O157:H7 cells than SMAC with cefixime and tellurite (CT-SMAC), while differentiating E. coli O157:H7 from sorbitol-nonfermenting Hafnia ...

Verocytoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) are zoonotic pathogens whose natural reservoir is represented by ruminants, particularly cattle. Infections are mainly acquired by consumption of undercooked contaminated food of animal origin, contact with infected animals and contaminated environment. VTEC O157 is the most frequently isolated serogroup from cases of human disease, however, ...

The severity of human infection with pathogenic Escherichia coli depends on two major virulence determinants (eae and stx) that, respectively, produce intimin and Shiga toxin. In cattle, both may enhance colonization, but whether this increases fitness by enhancing cattle-to-cattle transmission in the field is unknown. In E. coli O157, the ...

To manufacture raw ham in an efficient manner, we recently developed a new system in which presliced pork loin was used, and the processing time was reduced to 5% of the conventional method. This study aimed to examine whether this raw ham could be as safe as ham produced by ...

OBJECTIVES: Beef cattle are known reservoirs of Escherichia coli O157; therefore, it is possible that they may be reservoirs for other enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) serotypes. This study investigated the prevalence of EHEC serotypes O26, O45, O91, O103, O111, O121, O145, and O157 in 300 beef cattle fecal samples. MATERIALS: ...

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 has been recognized as a major foodborne pathogen responsible for frequent gastroenteritis outbreaks. Phages and essential oils can be used as a natural antimicrobial method to reduce bacterial pathogens from the food supply. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of a ...

This study aimed to determine the presence and concentration of Escherichia coli O157 and Salmonella spp. on fleece, faeces and carcases of sheep during slaughter. Faeces, fleece and pre-chill carcase samples were collected from 164 sheep slaughtered at two Australian abattoirs. The presence of E. coli O157 and Salmonella spp. ...

  The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of enteropathogenic (EPEC), enterohaemorragic (EHEC) and verotoxigenic (VTEC) Escherichia coli strains in free-ranging wild ruminants in Belgium and to characterize the positive isolates (serogroups and virulence-associated factor-encoding genes).   Escherichia coli strains isolated from faeces of wild cervids were ...

The in vitro survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 at 15°C under two experimental conditions (sterile soil and sterile natural water) was examined. DNA microarrays of the entire set of E. coli O157:H7 genes were used to measure the genomic expression patterns after 14 days. Although the populations declined, some E. ...

SUMMARYShiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), an important foodborne pathogen, can cause mild to severe bloody diarrhoea (BD), sometimes followed by life-threatening complications such as haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS). A total of 44 O157 strains isolated from different patients from 2000 through 2009 in Switzerland were further characterized and linked to ...

Recent outbreaks of food-borne illnesses associated with the consumption of fresh produce have increased attention on irrigation water as a potential source of pathogen contamination. A better understanding of the behaviour of enteric pathogens introduced into agricultural systems during irrigation will aid in risk assessments and support the development of ...

In this study, we investigated the interaction of 19 benign strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), bifidobacteria and staphylococci with enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) strains of different serotypes and virulence gene spectrum in a HT29 cell culture infection model. As markers of infection, the secretion of interleukin 8 (IL-8) and ...

Super-shedders, cattle shedding at least 10(4) cfu of Escherichia coli O157:H7 per gram of feces, increase the risks of contaminating the food chain and disseminating the organism through cattle populations. Because detecting super-shedders in cattle populations is laborious and time-consuming, a study was conducted to evaluate the role of hide ...

This study investigated the effect of bacteriophages (phages) e11/2 and e4/1c against Escherichia coli O157:H7 in an ex vivo rumen model and in cattle in vivo. In the ex vivo rumen model, samples were inoculated with either 10³ or 10⁶ CFU/ml inoculum of E. coli O157:H7 and challenged separately with ...

The bovine gastrointestinal tract is the main reservoir for enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) responsible for food-borne infections. Characterization of nutrients that promote the carriage of these pathogens by the ruminant would help to develop ecological strategies to reduce their survival in the bovine gastrointestinal tract. In this study, we show ...

The pathogen growth in dairy compost was studied in a greenhouse setting under different seasons. The five-strain mixtures of each Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes were inoculated separately into dry compost to yield c.1 log CFU g(-1) . After acclimation at room temperature, the inoculated compost was ...

SUMMARYVerotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) serotype O157:H7 strains from a Swedish cattle prevalence study (n=32), and livestock-derived strains linked to human disease (n=13), were characterized by microarray and PCR detection of virulence genes. The overall aim of the study was to investigate the distribution of known virulence determinants and determine which ...

Strains of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are a heterogeneous E. coli group that may cause severe disease in humans. STEC have been categorized into seropathotypes (SPTs) based on their phenotypic and molecular characteristics and the clinical features of the associated diseases. SPTs range from A to E, according to ...

Thermal resistance of heat-shocked Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes was compared with that of non-heat-shocked (control) strains in finished dairy compost. A three-strain mixture of each pathogen was heat shocked at 47.5°C for 1 h and inoculated into the compost at a final concentration of 10(7) CFU/g. The ...

The raising of captive white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a growing agricultural industry in Ohio as it is in several other areas of the United States and around the world. Pooled fecal samples were collected from 30 white-tailed deer confinement facilities. Samples were cultured for five enteric bacterial pathogens. Premise ...

Verotoxigenic Escherichia coli are important serotypes of enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) subgroup that cause attaching and effacing lesions in enterocytes by producing verotoxins or shiga-like toxins resulting in haemorrhagic colitis (HC) and haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The aim of this study was to detect these serotypes specially E. coli O157:H7 ...

Faecal samples obtained from 190 healthy mithuns were examined for the presence of Escherichia coli. Total one-hundred and five E. coli isolates were obtained from these samples, which belonged to 55 different serogroups. These isolates were subjected to multiplex polymerase chain reaction (m-PCR) for detection of stx1, stx2, eaeA and ...

Non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains have been linked to outbreaks and sporadic cases of illness worldwide. Illnesses linked to STEC serotypes other than O157:H7 appear to be on the rise in the United States and worldwide, indicating that some of these organisms may be emerging pathogens. As more ...

The study was performed to evaluate the safety of whole and RTE vegetables and to investigate the effectiveness of different preventive strategies for the quality assurance of RTE vegetables collected from three Italian production systems. Producer 1, applied a strict system in compliance with GAP- GMP - HACCP, Producer 2 ...

To isolate, characterize and select phages as potential biocontrol agents of enterohemorrhagic and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (EHEC and STEC) in cattle. Sixteen STEC and EHEC coliphages were isolated from bovine minced meat and stool samples and characterized with respect to their host range against STEC, EHEC and other Gram-negative ...

Cattle are a primary reservoir of Escherichia coli O157:H7, a major foodborne pathogen. The organism causes haemorrhagic colitis which can lead to serious complications, including haemolytic-uraemic syndrome. Although E. coli O157:H7 is widely prevalent in cattle and cattle environments, the number of human cases remain relatively low, suggesting possible strain ...

Abstract We investigated the efficacy of bacteriophage-based detection technology to detect Escherichia coli O157:H7 from ground beef. The assay involved a short enrichment period of 8 h followed by capture of the pathogen on O157-specific immunomagnetic beads. The captured cells were treated with O157-specific lytic bacteriophage, CSLO157. Upon phage-induced lysis, the ...

An analysis for stx(2) variants among the 2010 human stx(2)-positive Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains from Germany collected at the National Reference Centre 1999-2008 revealed 0.6% to possess the recently described stx(2g) gene. Sequencing of the whole stx(2g) operons showed new alleles and pseudogenes. The further molecular, phenotypic, and ...

The major objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in different types of food samples and to compare their genetic relatedness with STEC strains previously isolated from animal sources in Bangladesh. We investigated a total of 213 food samples, including 90 ...

Abstract Beef organ meat, such as liver, and beef are major food sources contaminated with Escherichia coli O157. This study investigated the detection method of E. coli O157 in beef liver and carcass. In an experiment with beef liver inoculated with E. coli O157, the direct plating method, plating after ...

Abstract This study was designed to compare the effectiveness of acidified sodium chlorite (ASC) and sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) in reducing several Escherichia coli strains isolated from different retail meat and fresh produce. Forty nonpathogenic E. coli strains were isolated and used in this study. A type strain of E. coli ...

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a human pathogen that has emerged from its less pathogenic progenitor, E. coli O55:H7, to form the EHEC 1 clade. In its emergence, E. coli O157:H7 formed three distinct clusters, each of which exists today. Sequencing and SNP analysis of Cluster 1 of this clade demonstrated ...

To feno-genotypically characterize the Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) population in Argentinean dairy cows. From 540 STEC positive samples, 170 isolates were analyzed by multiplex PCR and serotyping. Of these, 11% carried stx1, 52% stx2 and 37% stx1/stx2. The ehxA, saa and eae were detected in 77%, 66% and 3%, ...

Recently, subtilase cytotoxin (SubAB) was detected in verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) that do not carry the Locus of Enterocyte Effacement (LEE) pathogenicity island. The distribution of the subA gene in VTEC isolated from patients with the hemolytic uremic syndrome, patients with diarrheal disease and raw meats from ruminants and wildlife ...