Pathogenic Microbiology Commons^™

Antibiotic Resistance Coming Soon To A Pathogen Near You, Mckenzie Altman, Tamia Mills, Lindsey Layman, Catherine Stone

Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS)

The phenomena of antibiotic resistant bacteria has increased worldwide and can frequently be found on everyday surfaces. Here, we characterize a bacterial isolate from a woman’s restroom door handle at Marian. Preliminary results comprised of morphological and biochemical tests, including growth characteristics on blood agar medium, as well as usage of the Kirby Bauer agar diffusion test to determine antibiotic susceptibility, identifies this isolate to be a multidrug resistant Neisseria species. However, additional detailed analysis is needed to confirm its identity.

Aqueous Ozone Inactivation Of Viruses And Bacteria On Biotic And Abiotic Surfaces, Cailin Dawley

Theses and Dissertations

Produce is susceptible to contamination by foodborne pathogens. Food service establishments utilize sanitizing agents to reduce microbes on produce surfaces. The research objectives were to evaluate the efficacy of aqueous ozone 1) on the inactivation of viruses and bacteria on produce; 2) on the inactivation of viruses on stainless steel; and 3) against viruses in association with bacteria on produce surfaces. For objective 1, Boston bibb lettuce and cherry tomatoes were spot inoculated with a cocktail of viruses (murine norovirus (MNV) and MS2 bacteriophage) or bacteria (Enterobacter cloacae and Bacillus cereus) and washed for 40 min with samples taken every ...

Bacterial Abundance And Resistance In Ground Beef Varieties, Savannah Kumar, Sarah M. Boomer

PURE Insights

Raw ground beef purchased at supermarkets across America have one thing in common: they harbor bacteria, some of which are drug resistant and can be detrimental to public health. To understand the impact of farming and processing practices on the quantity of bacteria and drug resistance, organic and regular beef were assessed using MacConkey media. Bacterial colonies were sorted according to lactose utilization, with positive colonies representing fecal E. coli. Lactose negative colonies were further characterized into one of two groups (fecal Hafnia-like or soil Pseudomonas) using a variety of metabolic tests (oxidase, sulfur, indole). Advanced metabolic testing showed that ...

Cryptococcus Neoformans Cda1 And Its Chitin Deacetylase Activity Are Required For Fungal Pathogenesis, Rajendra Upadhya, Lorina G. Baker, Woei C. Lam, Charles A. Specht, Maureen J. Donlin, Jennifer K. Lodge

Open Access Articles

Chitin is an essential component of the cell wall of Cryptococcus neoformans conferring structural rigidity and integrity under diverse environmental conditions. Chitin deacetylase genes encode the enyzmes (chitin deacetylases [Cdas]) that deacetylate chitin, converting it to chitosan. The functional role of chitosan in the fungal cell wall is not well defined, but it is an important virulence determinant of C. neoformans Mutant strains deficient in chitosan are completely avirulent in a mouse pulmonary infection model. C. neoformans carries genes that encode three Cdas (Cda1, Cda2, and Cda3) that appear to be functionally redundant in cells grown under vegetative conditions. Here ...

Deciphering The Molecular Basis Of Mycobacteria And Lipoglycan Recognition By The C-Type Lectin Dectin-2, Alexiane Decout, Devinder Kaur, Jerome Nigou

Open Access Articles

Dectin-2 is a C-type lectin involved in the recognition of several pathogens such as Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans, Schistosoma mansonii, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis that triggers Th17 immune responses. Identifying pathogen ligands and understanding the molecular basis of their recognition is one of the current challenges. Purified M. tuberculosis mannose-capped lipoarabinomannan (ManLAM) was shown to induce signaling via Dectin-2, an activity that requires the (alpha1 --> 2)-linked mannosides forming the caps. Here, using isogenic M. tuberculosis mutant strains, we demonstrate that ManLAM is a bona fide and actually the sole ligand mediating bacilli recognition by Dectin-2, although M. tuberculosis produces a ...

Characterization Of Tick Organic Anion Transporting Polypeptides (Oatps) Upon Bacterial And Viral Infections, Vikas Taank, Wenshou Zhou, Xuran Zhuang, John F. Anderson, Utpal Pal, Hameeda Sultana, Girish Neelakanta

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Ixodes scapularis organic anion transporting polypeptides (OATPs) play important roles in tickrickettsial pathogen interactions. In this report, we characterized the role of these conserved molecules in ticks infected with either Lyme disease agent Borrelia burgdorferi or tick-borne Langat virus (LGTV), a pathogen closely related to tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV).

Results: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed no significant changes in oatps gene expression upon infection with B. burgdorferi in unfed ticks. Synchronous infection of unfed nymphal ticks with LGTV in vitro revealed no significant changes in oatps gene expression. However, expression of specific oatps was significantly downregulated upon ...

Vancomycin Delays Clindamycin-Induced Fatality In The Hamster Model Of Clostridioides [Clostridium] Difficile Infection, Amelia E. Fox-King, Chrisabelle Mefferd, Jacqueline R. Phan, Nancy O. Nou, Ernesto Abel-Santos, Brian P. Hedlund

LSAMP Poster Presentations

Antibiotics can leave the host gut microbiome susceptible to Clostridioides [Clostridium] difficile colonization and lethal toxin production. For instance, clindamycin-induced susceptibility to C. difficile infection (CDI) results in rapid fatality in hamster models, yet vancomycin has been shown to offer increased survival in hamsters challenged with C. difficile. We aim to develop an antibiotic treatment that will facilitate CDI susceptibility without prompt fatality in hamster models. An antibiotic regimen starting with a continuous vancomycin treatment along with a single clindamycin dosage is thought to reduce the major disruption in the indigenous gut microbiome and prevent clindamycin-induced death. Quantitative polymerase chain ...

Simulating Antibiotic Resistance In The Computer Lab And Biology Lab: Ideas For Undergraduate Projects, Anne E. Yust

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology: Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Select Gp120 V2 Domain Specific Antibodies Derived From Hiv And Siv Infection And Vaccination Inhibit Gp120 Binding To Alpha4beta7, Sakaorat Lertjuthaporn, Shan Lu, Yang Lou, Shixia Wang, James Arthos

Open Access Articles

The GI tract is preferentially targeted during acute/early HIV-1 infection. Consequent damage to the gut plays a central role in HIV pathogenesis. The basis for preferential targeting of gut tissues is not well defined. Recombinant proteins and synthetic peptides derived from HIV and SIV gp120 bind directly to integrin alpha4beta7, a gut-homing receptor. Using both cell-surface expressed alpha4beta7 and a soluble alpha4beta7 heterodimer we demonstrate that its specific affinity for gp120 is similar to its affinity for MAdCAM (its natural ligand). The gp120 V2 domain preferentially engages extended forms of alpha4beta7 in a cation -sensitive manner and is inhibited ...

Lack Of Evidence For Erm(B) Infiltration Into Erythromycin-Resistant Campylobacter Coli And Campylobacter Jejuni From Commercial Turkey Production In Eastern North Carolina: A Major Turkey-Growing Region In The United States, Hannah K. Bolinger, Qijing Zhang, William G. Miller, Sophia Kathariou

Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine Publications

In Campylobacter spp., resistance to erythromycin and other macrolides has typically implicated ribosomal mutations, especially substitutions in the 23S rRNA genes. However, in 2014, the macrolide resistance gene erm(B) was reported for the first time in Campylobacter and shown to be harbored by a multidrug resistance island in the chromosome of the swine-derived strain Campylobacter coli ZC113. erm(B)-positive C. coli and Campylobacter jejuni strains from the food supply have been mostly reported from China. However, erm(B)-positive C. coli isolates were also detected recently in fecal samples from turkeys in Spain. To determine whether erm(B ...

High-Throughput Nanoliter Dispensing Device For Biological Applications, Cole Reynolds, Euiwon Bae Dr., J Paul Robinson Dr.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Pathogen identification is a field that can contribute largely to the prevention of the spreading of illness and disease. In the past, pathogen identification has been a long and arduous process due to the time-consuming processes and steps that requires technician’s time and effort. With new technologies emerging however, screening of bacteria colonies can be done in a quick and high-throughput way. The problem is that using the current methods, bacteria cannot be transferred to petri dishes fast enough to keep up with the new screening methods. The current study focuses on exploring different methods to create an ergonomic ...

Transporters Mrp1 And Mrp2 Regulate Opposing Inflammatory Signals To Control Transepithelial Neutrophil Migration During Streptococcus Pneumoniae Lung Infection, Andrew Zukauskas, Randall J. Mrsny, Paula Cortes Barrantes, Jerrold R. Turner, John M. Leong, Beth A. Mccormick

Open Access Articles

Streptococcus pneumoniae remains a source of morbidity and mortality in both developed and underdeveloped nations of the world. Disease can manifest as pneumonia, bacteremia, and meningitis, depending on the localization of infection. Interestingly, there is a correlation in experimental murine infections between the development of bacteremia and influx of neutrophils into the pulmonary lumen. Reduction of this neutrophil influx has been shown to improve survivability during infection. In this study, we use in vitro biotinylation and neutrophil transmigration and in vivo murine infection to identify a system in which two epithelium-localized ATP-binding cassette transporters, MRP1 and MRP2, have inverse activities ...

Arthropod Transcriptional Activator Protein-1 (Ap-1) Aids Tick-Rickettsial Pathogen Survival In The Cold, Supreet Khanal, Vikas Taank, John F. Anderson, Hameeda Sultana, Girish Neelakanta

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Ixodes scapularis ticks transmit several pathogens to humans including rickettsial bacterium, Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Here, we report that A. phagocytophilum uses tick transcriptional activator protein-1 (AP-1) as a molecular switch in the regulation of arthropod antifreeze gene, iafgp. RNAi-mediated silencing of ap-1 expression significantly affected iafgp gene expression and A. phagocytophilum burden in ticks upon acquisition from the murine host. Gel shift assays provide evidence that both the bacterium and AP-1 influences iafgp promoter and expression. The luciferase assays revealed that a region of approximately 700 bp upstream of the antifreeze gene is sufficient for AP-1 binding to promote iafgp gene ...

Novel Role Of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Lptd Operon, Sundar Pandey

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pseudomonas aeruginosais an opportunistic pathogen that infects cystic fibrosis (CF) patients contributing to their high morbidity and mortality. P. aeruginosaundergoes a phenotypic conversion in the CF lung, from nonmucoid to mucoid, by constitutively producing a polysaccharide called alginate. These mucoid strains often revert to nonmucoid in vitrodue to second-site suppressor mutations. We hypothesized that mapping these mutations would lead to the identification of novel genes involved in alginate production. In a previous study, a mucoid strain, PDO300 (PAOmucA22), was used to isolate suppressors of alginate phenotype (sap). One of the uncharacterized nonmucoid revertants, sap27, is the ...

The Role Of Eukaryotic Abc-Transporters In Eliciting Neutrophil Infiltration During Streptococcus Pneumoniae Infection, Andrew Zukauskas

GSBS Dissertations and Theses

Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) is a Gram-positive, encapsulated bacterium capable of causing significant morbidity and mortality throughout the world. A hallmark of S. pneumoniae infection is infiltration of neutrophils (PMNs) that assist in controlling the spread infection but may also contribute to pathology. Paradoxically, studies have shown that limiting PMN infiltration into the lumen of the lung during infection actually betters clinical outcome in experimental S. pneumoniae infection. The final step in PMN luminal trafficking is a Hepoxilin A3 (HXA₃)-dependent migration across the pulmonary epithelium. HXA₃ is a PMN chemoattractant that forms gradients along the polarized epithelial ...

Assembly-Hub Function Of Er-Localized Snare Proteins In Biogenesis Of Tombusvirus Replication Compartment, Zsuzsanna Sasvari, Nikolay Kovalev, Paulina Alatriste Gonzalez, Kai Xu, Peter D. Nagy

Plant Pathology Faculty Publications

Positive-strand RNA viruses assemble numerous membrane-bound viral replicase complexes within large replication compartments to support their replication in infected cells. Yet the detailed mechanism of how given subcellular compartments are subverted by viruses is incompletely understood. Although, Tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV) uses peroxisomal membranes for replication, in this paper, we show evidence that the ER-resident SNARE (soluble NSF attachment protein receptor) proteins play critical roles in the formation of active replicase complexes in yeast model host and in plants. Depletion of the syntaxin 18-like Ufe1 and Use1, which are components of the ER SNARE complex in the ERAS (ER ...

Downregulation Of Microrna Eca-Mir-128 In Seminal Exosomes And Enhanced Expression Of Cxcl16 In The Stallion Reproductive Tract Are Associated With Long-Term Persistence Of Equine Arteritis Virus, Mariano Carossino, Pouya Dini, Theodore S. Kalbfleisch, Alan T. Loynachan, Igor F. Canisso, Kathleen M. Shuck, Peter J. Timoney, R. Frank Cook, Udeni B. R. Balasuriya

Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

Equine arteritis virus (EAV) can establish long-term persistent infection in the reproductive tract of stallions and is shed in the semen. Previous studies showed that long-term persistence is associated with a specific allele of the CXCL16 gene (CXCL16S) and that persistent infection is maintained despite the presence of a local inflammatory and humoral and mucosal antibody responses. In this study, we demonstrated that equine seminal exosomes (SEs) are enriched in a small subset of microRNAs (miRNAs). Most importantly, we demonstrated that long-term EAV persistence is associated with the downregulation of an SE-associated miRNA (eca-mir-128) and with an enhanced expression of ...

Functional Similarity Of Prd-Containing Virulence Regulators In Bacillus Anthracis, Malik Raynor

UT GSBS Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Bacillus anthracis produces three regulators, AtxA, AcpA, and AcpB, that control virulence gene expression and are members of an emerging class of regulators termed “PCVRs” (Phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase regulation Domain-Containing Virulence Regulators). AtxA controls expression of the toxin genes; lef, cya, and pag, and is the master virulence regulator and archetype PCVR. AcpA and AcpB are less well studied. AcpA and AcpB independently positively control transcription of the capsule biosynthetic operon capBCADE, and culture conditions that enhance AtxA activity result in capBCADE transcription in strains lacking acpA and acpB. RNA-Seq was used to assess the regulons of the paralogs in strains ...

The Unusual Paradigm Of The Acid Response Two Component System Of Helicobacter Pylori, Anna Kenan

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Two component signal transduction systems in bacteria are key for environmental adaptation. Signaling via these systems is traditionally considered to be relatively simple, only involving interactions between the sensory protein and its cognate response regulator. The ArsRS two component system is vital for the acid response in Helicobacter pylori. This study investigates the mechanism by which ArsRS responds to acid in H pylori. Recent studies in our lab have challenged the the classic model in which the response regulator ArsR is activated by the phosphorylation of a conserved aspartic acid by the transfer of a phosphoryl group from a histidine ...

Characterizing The Virulence Factor Yape In Yersinia Pestis., Tiva Templeton Vancleave

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of bubonic plague and is primarily transmitted by fleas. Upon infection, the bacteria rapidly travel to the regional lymph nodes causing inflammation and cellulitis in these tissues (referred to as buboes). Two outer membrane proteins, YapE and Pla, have been implicated to have roles in dissemination to the lymph nodes. Their adhesive properties have shown that they are able to interact with host macrophages thereby increasing their ability to disseminate to regional lymph nodes. More recently, we have shown that YapE is cleaved by another virulence factor important for lymph node colonization, Pla, to ...