bacteria
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New Study Reveals How Bacteria Responds to Temperature Change
Bioengineers at the University of California, San Diego have developed a computational model of 1,366 genes in E. coli that includes 3D protein structures and has enabled them to compute the temperature sensitivity of the bacterium’s proteins. The study opens the door for engineers to create heat-tolerant microbial strains for production of commodity chemicals, therapeutic [...]
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Poultry Contamination at Processing Plant Linked to Farms
Researchers at the University of Georgia, Athens, have identified a strong link between the prevalence and load of certain food-borne pathogens on poultry farms, and later downstream at the processing plant. “This study suggests that reducing foodborne pathogen loads on broiler chicken farms would help to reduce pathogen loads at processing, and may ultimately help [...]
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Salmonella Uses Protective Switch During Infection
Salmonella Typhimurium causes food poisoning in people and can be fatal in the elderly or very young. Recent technological advances in the field known as proteomics are allowing researchers to explore how proteins, the workhorses of the cell, allow the bacteria to infect and cause illness. Most technologies that examine a cell’s ensemble of proteins [...]
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New Method for Reducing Salmonella Infection
A novel mode of interaction between Salmonella, a foodborne pathogen, and the gut bacteria that leads to the inactivation of Salmonella has been found by researchers from the Institute of Food Research. This interaction relies on Salmonella and the gut bacteria being in close proximity, or through cell to cell contact. This new way of interaction between the “good” [...]
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Bacteria on Fruit and Vegetables Vary with Type of Produce
Fresh fruit and vegetables carry an abundance of bacteria on their surfaces, not all of which cause disease. In the first study to assess the variety of these non-pathogenic bacteria, scientists report that these surface bacteria vary depending on the type of produce and cultivation practices. The results are published March 27 in the open [...]
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Single Point Mutation in Listeria Monocytogenes Identified
The bacterial foodborne pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes is the causative agent of listeriosis—a debilitating disease linked with ~2,500 illnesses and more than 500 deaths per annum in the US alone. A characteristic feature of L. monocytogenes is its ability to grow at refrigeration temperatures and in the presence of high concentrations of salt—traditional food preservation techniques, which arrest the growth [...]
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DuPont™ BAX® System Certified for Salmonella Detection
A new test for detecting foodborne Salmonella with the DuPont™ BAX® System has been certified as Performance TestedSM Method #081201 by the AOAC Research Institute. This assay uses powerful polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology with real-time detection to deliver fast, accurate results. “We’re very pleased to add this certification to our BAX® System line of advanced food diagnostics,” [...]
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Why Sourdough Bread Resists Mould?
Sourdough bread resists mould, unlike conventionally leavened bread. During sourdough production, bacteria convert the linoleic acid in bread flour to a compound that has powerful antifungal activity. The major benefits from the research are twofold: better tasting bread, because preservatives can be eliminated from the recipes, and because sourdough bread has a more distinct and [...]
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Bacterial Supplement Could Help Young Pigs Fight Disease
In a study of 36 weanling-age pigs, researchers found that a dose of lipid-producing Rhodococcus opacusbacteria increased circulating triglycerides. Triglycerides are a crucial source of energy for the immune system. “We could potentially strengthen the immune system by providing this bacterium to animals at a stage when they are in need of additional energy,” said Janet [...]
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Why Staphylococcus Aureus Gets Up Our Noses?
Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is one of the five most common causes of infections after injury or surgery. Around one third of healthy individuals carry this bacteria in their noses, pharynx and on their skin. In normal healthy and immunocompentent person, S. aureus colonization of the skin, intestinal tract, or nasopharynx does not lead to any symptoms or [...]
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A New Sight on Salmonella Thriving Process
Salmonella are bacteria. The Salmonella consist of a range of very closely related bacteria, many of which cause disease in humans and animals. After Salmonella is eaten it passes through the stomach to the intestine. Here, it binds to the wall of the intestine, and through some special proteins that it makes in response to the particular conditions in the [...]
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Foodborne Pathogens Traced by Remote Sensing
In 2011, an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes in cantaloupe led to almost 150 illnesses and 33 deaths. Ten other deaths not attributed to listeriosis occurred among persons who had been infected with an outbreak-associated subtype. State and local public health officials reviewed causes of death listed on death certificates to determine whether to attribute these [...]
