羊奶粉生产环节阪崎肠杆菌分离鉴定及其毒力基因和药敏检测

目的:分析羊奶粉生产环节阪崎肠杆菌的污染状况,分离株毒力基因携带情况以及耐药性。方法:采自某羊奶粉加工厂空气过滤车间、液态奶车间、流化床车间、喷雾干燥车间和包装车间的生产样品及环境样品共180份,按国标GB4789.40-2010和PCR方法进行阪崎肠杆菌的分离鉴定;采用PCR方法检测cpa、hly、sip和omp X毒力基因;采用琼脂稀释法测定药敏性。结果:27个采样点中有14个阪崎肠杆菌阳性点,检出率为51.9%;180份样品中有29份检出阪崎肠杆菌,污染率为16.1%;阳性样品主要为粉状和棉签涂抹样品,污染率分别为23.5%和16.9%。毒力基因检出率为100%,毒力基因类型有cpa-omp X和cpa-hly-omp X,检出率分别为79.3%,20.7%。29株菌对利福平、甲氧苄啶/磺胺甲恶唑、头孢西丁钠、阿莫西林、阿莫西林/克拉维酸的耐药率依次为100%,75.9%,6.9%,3.4%和3.4%;对其它11种抗生素均敏感,多重耐药率为6.9%。结论:羊奶粉加工厂存在阪崎肠杆菌的污染。空气流动、粉尘污染、操作人员交叉污染及生产设备清洗消毒不彻底可能是加工过程中该菌的污染途径。分离株毒力基因携带率较高,对大多数供试抗生素敏感,出现多重耐药现象。     

Population structure of rumen Escherichia coli associated with subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) in dairy cattle

Previous studies indicated that only subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA), induced by feeding a high-grain diet, is associated with an inflammatory response and increased abundance of Escherichia coli in the rumen. We hypothesized that ruminal E. coli in grain pellet-induced SARA carried virulence factors that potentially contribute to the immune activation during SARA. One hundred twenty-nine E. coli isolates were cultured from the rumens of 8 cows (4 animals per treatment) in which SARA had been nutritionally induced by feeding a high-grain diet (GPI-SARA) or a diet containing alfalfa pellets (API-SARA). The population structure of the E. coli was evaluated with the ABD genotyping system and repetitive sequence-based (rep)-PCR fingerprinting. Twenty-five virulence factors were evaluated with PCR. Escherichia coli numbers were higher in the GPI-SARA treatment than in the API-SARA treatment. The genetic structure of the E. coli was significantly different between SARA challenge models. Isolates from GPI-control (46%), API-control (70%), and API-SARA (53%) were closely related and fell into one cluster, whereas isolates from GPI-SARA (54%) grouped separately. The ABD typing indicated a shift from an A-type E. coli population to a B1-type population only due to GPI-SARA. Of the 25 virulence factors tested, curli fiber genes were highly associated with GPI. Curli fibers were first identified in E. coli mastitis isolates and are potent virulence factors that induce a range of immune responses. Results suggest that under low rumen pH conditions induced by a grain diet, there is a burst in the number of E. coli with virulence genes that can take advantage of these rumen conditions to trigger an inflammatory response.     

Small Molecule Inhibitors of AI-2 Signaling in Bacteria: State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives for Anti-Quorum Sensing Agents

Bacteria respond to different small molecules that are produced by other neighboring bacteria. These molecules, called autoinducers, are classified as intraspecies (i.e., molecules produced and perceived by the same bacterial species) or interspecies (molecules that are produced and sensed between different bacterial species). AI-2 has been proposed as an interspecies autoinducer and has been shown to regulate different bacterial physiology as well as affect virulence factor production and biofilm formation in some bacteria, including bacteria of clinical relevance. Several groups have embarked on the development of small molecules that could be used to perturb AI-2 signaling in bacteria, with the ultimate goal that these molecules could be used to inhibit bacterial virulence and biofilm formation. Additionally, these molecules have the potential to be used in synthetic biology applications whereby these small molecules are used as inputs to switch on and off AI-2 receptors. In this review, we highlight the state-of-the-art in the development of small molecules that perturb AI-2 signaling in bacteria and offer our perspective on the future development and applications of these classes of molecules.     

Staphylococcus aureus—A Known Opponent against Host Defense Mechanisms and Vaccine Development—Do We Still Have a Chance to Win?

The main purpose of this review is to present justification for the urgent need to implement specific prophylaxis of invasive Staphylococcus aureus infections. We emphasize the difficulties in achieving this goal due to numerous S. aureus virulence factors important for the process of infection and the remarkable ability of these bacteria to avoid host defense mechanisms. We precede these considerations with a brief overview of the global necessitiy to intensify the use of vaccines against other pathogens as well, particularly in light of an impasse in antibiotic therapy. Finally, we point out global trends in research into modern technologies used in the field of molecular microbiology to develop new vaccines. We focus on the vaccines designed to fight the infections caused by S. aureus, which are often resistant to the majority of available therapeutic options.