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Current Microbiology Apr 2013We analyzed highly vancomycin-resistant Gram-positive bacteria isolated from the saliva of migratory songbirds captured, sampled, and released from a bird-banding...
We analyzed highly vancomycin-resistant Gram-positive bacteria isolated from the saliva of migratory songbirds captured, sampled, and released from a bird-banding station in western Kansas. Individual bacterial isolates were identified by partial 16S rRNA sequencing. Most of the bacteria in this study were shown to be Staphylococcus succinus with the majority being isolated from the American Robin. Some of these bacteria were shown to carry vanA, vanB, and vanC vancomycin-resistance genes and have the ability to form biofilms. One of the van gene-carrying isolates is also coagulase positive, which is normally considered a virulence factor. Other organisms isolated included Staphylococcus saprophyticus as well as Enterococcus gallinarum. Given the wide range of the American Robin and ease of horizontal gene transfer between Gram-positive cocci, we postulate that these organisms could serve as a reservoir of vancomycin-resistance genes capable of transferring to human pathogens.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Enterococcus; Kansas; Saliva; Songbirds; Staphylococcus; Vancomycin; Vancomycin Resistance
PubMed: 23224296
DOI: 10.1007/s00284-012-0278-1 -
International Journal of Food... Nov 2015In Italy, fermented sausages (called "salami") are consumed in large quantities. Salami samples from a local meat factory in the area of Torino were analyzed at 0, 3, 7,...
In Italy, fermented sausages (called "salami") are consumed in large quantities. Salami samples from a local meat factory in the area of Torino were analyzed at 0, 3, 7, 30 and 45 days of ripening. Swab samples from the production environment were also collected at the beginning of the experiment. The diversity of metabolically active microbiota occurring during the natural fermentation of salami was evaluated by using RT-PCR-DGGE coupled with RNA-based pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. A culture-dependent approach was also applied to identify and characterize isolated Staphylococcaceae and LAB populations. Staphylococcus succinus, Staphylococcus xylosus and Lactobacillus sakei were the species most frequently isolated during the maturation time. Rep-PCR analysis showed that S. succinus and S. xylosus isolated from swabs and salami samples clustered together, suggesting possible contamination during the production process. RT-PCR-DGGE and rRNA-based pyrosequencing showed that the metabolically active populations were dominated by S. succinus, Lb. sakei and Leuconostoc carnosum. In this specific case study, only a few species belonging to Staphylococcaceae, Lactobacillaceae and Leuconostocaceae may be metabolically active and contribute to determine the final characteristics of the products.
Topics: Biodiversity; Fermentation; Food Microbiology; Gram-Positive Bacteria; Italy; Meat Products; Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Time
PubMed: 25724303
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2015.01.016 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2020Koumiss is a traditional fermented raw mare's milk product. It contains high nutritional value and is well-known for its health-promoting effect as an alimentary...
Koumiss is a traditional fermented raw mare's milk product. It contains high nutritional value and is well-known for its health-promoting effect as an alimentary supplement. This study aimed to investigate the bacterial diversity, especially lactic acid bacteria (LAB), in koumiss and raw mare's milk. Forty-two samples, including koumiss and raw mare's milk, were collected from the pastoral area in Yili, Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China. This work applied PacBio single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing to profile full-length 16S rRNA genes, which was a powerful technology enabling bacterial taxonomic assignment to the species precision. The SMRT sequencing identified 12 phyla, 124 genera, and 227 species across 29 koumiss samples. Eighteen phyla, 286 genera, and 491 species were found across 13 raw mare's milk samples. The bacterial microbiota diversity of the raw mare's milk was more complex and diverse than the koumiss. Raw mare's milk was rich in LAB, such as (.) , (.) , and . In addition, raw mare's milk also contained sequences representing pathogenic bacteria, such as , (.) , and . The koumiss microbiota mainly comprised LAB, and sequences representing pathogenic bacteria were not detected. Meanwhile, the koumiss was enriched with secondary metabolic pathways that were potentially beneficial for health. Using a Random Forest model, the two kinds of samples could be distinguished with a high accuracy 95.2% [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.98] based on 42 species and functions. Comprehensive depiction of the microbiota in raw mare's milk and koumiss might help elucidate evolutionary and functional relationships among the bacterial communities in these dairy products. The current work suffered from the limitation of a low sample size, so further work would be required to verify our findings.
PubMed: 33193214
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.581610 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2017The aim of the study was to explore the halophile metabolome in building materials using untargeted metabolomics which allows for broad metabolome coverage. For this...
The aim of the study was to explore the halophile metabolome in building materials using untargeted metabolomics which allows for broad metabolome coverage. For this reason, we used high-performance liquid chromatography interfaced to high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC/HRMS). As an alternative to standard microscopy techniques, we introduced pioneering Coherent Anti-stokes Raman Scattering Microscopy (CARS) to non-invasively visualize microbial cells. Brick samples saturated with salt solution (KCl, NaCl (two salinity levels), MgSO, Mg(NO)), were inoculated with the mixture of preselected halophilic microorganisms, i.e., bacteria: , and yeast: and stored at 28°C and 80% relative humidity for a year. Metabolites were extracted directly from the brick samples and measured via HPLC/HRMS in both positive and negative ion modes. Overall, untargeted metabolomics allowed for discovering the interactions of halophilic microorganisms with buildings materials which together with CARS microscopy enabled us to elucidate the biodeterioration process caused by halophiles. We observed that halophile metabolome was differently affected by different salt solutions. Furthermore, we found indications for haloadaptive strategies and degradation of brick samples due to microbial pigment production as a salt stress response. Finally, we detected changes in lipid content related to changes in the structure of phospholipid bilayers and membrane fluidity.
PubMed: 29321766
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.02448 -
Microbes and Infection Dec 2016Drosophila melanogaster is an emerging model system for the study of evolutionary ecology of immunity. However, a large number of studies have used non natural pathogens...
Drosophila melanogaster is an emerging model system for the study of evolutionary ecology of immunity. However, a large number of studies have used non natural pathogens as very few natural pathogens have been isolated and identified. Our aim was to isolate and characterize natural pathogen/s of D. melanogaster. A bacterial pathogen was isolated from wild caught Drosophila spp., identified as a new strain of Staphylococcus succinus subsp. succinus and named PK-1. This strain induced substantial mortality (36-62%) in adults of several laboratory populations of D. melanogaster. PK-1 grew rapidly within the body of the flies post infection and both males and females had roughly same number of colony forming units. Mortality was affected by mode of infection and dosage of the pathogen. However mating status of the host had no effect on mortality post infection. Given that there are very few known natural bacterial pathogens of D. melanogaster and that PK-1 can establish a sustained infection across various outbred and inbred populations of D. melanogaster this new isolate is a potential resource for future studies on immunity.
Topics: Animals; Drosophila melanogaster; Female; Male; Staphylococcus; Survival Analysis
PubMed: 27492855
DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2016.07.008 -
Genome Announcements Jun 2016Here, we report the draft genome sequence of Staphylococcus succinus strain CSM-77. This moderately halophilic bacterium was isolated from the surface of a halite sample...
Here, we report the draft genome sequence of Staphylococcus succinus strain CSM-77. This moderately halophilic bacterium was isolated from the surface of a halite sample obtained from a Triassic salt mine.
PubMed: 27284152
DOI: 10.1128/genomeA.00532-16 -
BioMed Research International 2017Changes in the microbial populations in the conjunctival sacs of animals have traditionally been evaluated using conventional microbiology techniques. The goal of this...
Changes in the microbial populations in the conjunctival sacs of animals have traditionally been evaluated using conventional microbiology techniques. The goal of this study was to examine the suitability of a methodology which may reveal a previously unknown microbiome inhabiting feline conjunctival membranes. In the present study, we determined the microbial diversity in feline conjunctivas based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Five taxa not described earlier in veterinary ophthalmology (i.e., , and ) were identified in feline conjunctivas with a high similarity (99-100%). The study demonstrates that the feline conjunctival sacs are inhabited by much more rich and diverse microbial communities than previously thought using culture-based methods. From the clinical perspective, this could suggest that other laboratory procedures (e.g., extended incubation time in the case of Actinobacteria, formerly order Actinomycetales) or a new tool like culture-independent approaches (next-generation DNA sequencing) should be taken into account.
Topics: Animals; Cats; Conjunctiva; Genetic Variation; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Microbiota; Phylogeny; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
PubMed: 29279847
DOI: 10.1155/2017/3710404 -
BMC Evolutionary Biology Sep 2013Maintenance and deployment cost of immunity is high, therefore, it is expected to trade-off with other high cost traits like sexual activity. Previous studies with...
BACKGROUND
Maintenance and deployment cost of immunity is high, therefore, it is expected to trade-off with other high cost traits like sexual activity. Previous studies with Drosophila melanogaster show that male's ability to clear bacteria decreases with increase in sexual activity. We subjected this idea to test using two pathogens (Pseudomonas entomophila and Staphylococcus succinus) and three different populations of Drosophila melanogaster.
RESULTS
We found that sexual activity enhanced male survivorship in a pathogen specific manner. Sexually active males show higher resistance than virgins upon infection with Pseudomonas entomophila. Interestingly, the beneficial effects of sexual activity increased with time of co-habitation with females and declined when access to females was restricted. We observed no change in male survivorship upon experimentally varying the number of sexual interactions.
CONCLUSION
Our results show that the sexual activity-immunity trade-off in males cannot be generalised. The trade-off is potentially mediated through complex interactions between the host, pathogen and the environment experienced by the host.
Topics: Animals; Drosophila melanogaster; Female; Male; Pseudomonas; Sexual Behavior, Animal; Staphylococcus
PubMed: 24010544
DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-13-185