Food Science Commons^™

In Vivo Selection To Identify Bacterial Strains With Enhanced Ecological Performance In Synbiotic Applications, Janina A. Krumbeck, Maria X. Maldonado-Gomez, Ines Martınez, Steven Frese, Thomas E. Burkey, Karuna Rasineni, Amanda E. Ramer-Tait, Edward N. Harris, Robert W. Hutkins, Jens Walter

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

One strategy for enhancing the establishment of probiotic bacteria in the human intestinal tract is via the parallel administration of a prebiotic, which is referred to as a synbiotic. Here we present a novel method that allows a rational selection of putative probiotic strains to be used in synbiotic applications: in vivo selection (IVS). This method consists of isolating candidate probiotic strains from fecal samples following enrichment with the respective prebiotic. To test the potential of IVS, we isolated bifidobacteria from human subjects who consumed increasing doses of galactooligosaccharides (GOS) for 9 weeks. A retrospective analysis of the fecal microbiota …

Sandwich Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay For Detecting Sesame Seed In Foods, Stef J. Koppelman, Gülsen Söylemez, Lynn Niemann, Ferdelie E. Gaskin, Joseph L. Baumert, Steve L. Taylor

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Small amounts of sesame can trigger allergic reactions in sesame-allergic patients. Because sesame is a widely used food ingredient, analytical methods are needed to support quality control and food safety programs in the food industry. In this study, polyclonal antibodies against sesame seed proteins were raised, and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for the detection and quantification of sesame seed residue in food. A comparison was made between this ELISA and other assays, particularly focusing on recovery of sesame seed residue from different food matrices. The developed ELISA is sensitive with a lower limit of quantification of 0.5 …

Effect Of Chemical Modifications On Allergenic Potency Of Peanut Proteins, Ramon Bencharitiwong, Hanneke P. M. Van Der Kleij, Stef J. Koppelman, Anna Nowak-Wegrzyn

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background: Modification of native peanut extracts could reduce adverse effects of peanut immunotherapy.

Objective: We sought to compare native and chemically modified crude peanut extract (CPE) and major peanut allergens Ara h 2 and Ara h 6 in a mediator-release assay based on the rat basophilic leukemia (RBL) cell line transfected with human Fce receptor.

Methods: Native Ara h 2/6 was reduced and alkylated (RA), with or without additional glutaraldehyde treatment (RAGA). CPE was reduced and alkylated. Sera of subjects with peanut allergy (16 males; median age 7 years) were used for overnight RBL-passive sensitization. Cells were stimulated …

Food Processing And Allergenicity, Kitty C. M. Verhoeckx, Yvonne M. Vissers, Joseph L. Baumert, Roland Faludi, Marcel Feys, Simon Flanagan, Corinne Herouet-Guicheney, Thomas Holzhauser, Ryo Shimojo, Nieke Van Der Bolt, Harry Wichers, Ian Kimber

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Food processing can have many beneficial effects. However, processing may also alter the allergenic properties of food proteins. A wide variety of processing methods is available and their use depends largely on the food to be processed.

In this review the impact of processing (heat and non-heat treatment) on the allergenic potential of proteins, and on the antigenic (IgG-binding) and allergenic (IgE-binding) properties of proteins has been considered. A variety of allergenic foods (peanuts, tree nuts, cows’ milk, hens’ eggs, soy, wheat and mustard) have been reviewed.

The overall conclusion drawn is that processing does not completely abolish the allergenic …

The Microbiome Of Uncontacted Amerindians, Jose C. Clemente, Erica C. Pehrsson, Martin J. Blaser, Kuldip Sandhu, Zhan Gao, Bin Wang, Magda Magris, Glida Hidalgo, Monica Contreras, Óscar Noya-Alarcón, Orlana Lander, Jeremy Mcdonald, Mike Cox, Jens Walter, Phaik Lyn Oh, Jean F. Ruiz, Selena Rodriguez, Nan Shen, Se Jin Song, Jessica Metcalf, Rob Knight, Gautam Dantas, M. Gloria Dominguez-Bello

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Most studies of the human microbiome have focused on westernized people with life-style practices that decrease microbial survival and transmission, or on traditional societies that are currently in transition to westernization. We characterize the fecal, oral, and skin bacterial microbiome and resistome of members of an isolated Yanomami Amerindian village with no documented previous contact with Western people. These Yanomami harbor a microbiome with the highest diversity of bacteria and genetic functions ever reported in a human group. Despite their isolation, presumably for >11,000 years since their ancestors arrived in South America, and no known exposure to antibiotics, they harbor …

Humanized Microbiota Mice As A Model Of Recurrent Clostridium Difficile Disease, James Collins, Jennifer M. Auchtung, Laura Schaefer, Kathryn A. Eaton, Robert A. Britton

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background: Clostridium difficile disease is the leading antibiotic-associated cause of diarrhea and nosocomial acquired infection in the western world. The per annum burden in the USA alone amounts to 250,000 cases with 14,000 ascribed deaths and medical costs in excess of a billion dollars. Novel models for the study of C. difficile infection are therefore pertinent.

Results: Germ free C57BL/6 mice gavaged with a healthy human fecal microbiota maintained a stable “humanized” microbiota over multiple generations when housed under specific pathogen-free (SPF) conditions. As with mice containing a conventional microbiota, treatment with a five-antibiotic cocktail followed by a single dose …

Cultivation Of Stable, Reproducible Microbial Communities From Different Fecal Donors Using Minibioreactor Arrays (Mbras), Jennifer M. Auchtung, Catherine D. Robinson, Robert A. Britton

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background: Continuous-flow culture models are one tool for studying complex interactions between members of human fecal microbiotas because they allow studies to be completed during an extended period of time under conditions where pH, nutrient availability, and washout of waste products and dead cells can be controlled. Because many of the existing well-validated continuous-flow models are large and complex, we were interested in developing a simpler continuous-flow system that would allow microbial community dynamics to be examined in higher throughput while still maintaining complex microbial communities. To this end, we developed minibioreactor arrays (MBRAs), small volume bioreactors (15 ml) that …

Stalk Strenght And Sugar Content Of 55 Dual-Purpose Sorghum Inbreds, S. F. Chen, M.-G. C. Danao, P. J. Brown

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

In 2012, sorghum was approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an “advanced” bioenergy feedstock in cases where both the grain and stover are both used for energy production (USEPA, 2012). It is desirable, therefore, to develop taller varieties of sorghum to increase biomass yields. However the taller the plant gets, the more susceptible it becomes to lodging, reducing grain yield in the end. Additionally the ability to characterize the storage stability of new sorghum varieties in terms of moisture content and free sugars content is advantageous. In this study, high throughput assays to characterize stalk strength based …

Preface, Metagenomics For Microbiology, Jacques Izard, Maria C. Rivera

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

It is well known that only a small fraction of extant microbial life has been identified. Metagenomics, the direct sequencing and characterization of genes and genomes present in complex microbial ecosystems (for example, metagenomes), has revolutionized the practice of microbiology by bypassing the hurdle of pure culture isolation. Metagenomics shows promise of advancing our understanding of the diversity, function, and evolution of the uncultivated majority.

Metagenomics as a field arose in the 1990s after the application of molecular biology techniques to genomic material directly extracted from microbial assemblages present in diverse habitats, including the human body. The application of metagenomic …

Metagenomics For Bacteriology, Erika Del Castillo, Jacques Izard

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The study of bacteria, or bacteriology, has gone through transformative waves since its inception in the 1600s. It all started by the visualization of bacteria using light microscopy by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, when he first described “animalcules.” Direct cellular observation then evolved into utilizing different wavelengths on novel platforms such as electron, fluorescence, and even near-infrared microscopy. Understanding the link between microbes and disease (pathogenicity) began with the ability to isolate and cultivate organisms through aseptic methodologies starting in the 1700s. These techniques became more prevalent in the following centuries with the work of famous scientists such as Louis Pasteur …

Promises And Prospects Of Microbiome Studies, Maria C. Rivera, Jacques Izard

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Since Anthony van Leeuwenhoek, first microscopic observations of the unseen microbiota and the more recent realization that little of the microbes in the biosphere are known, humans have developed a deep curiosity to fully understand the inner workings of the microbial realm. Our ability to characterize the complexity of microbial communities in their natural habitats has dramatically improved over the past decade thanks to advances in high-throughput methodologies. By eliminating the need to isolate and culture individual species, metagenomics approaches have removed many of the obstacles that hindered research in the ecology of mixed microbial consortia, providing valuable information about …

Comparison Of Six Commercial Elisa Kits For Their Specificity And Sensitivity In Detecting Different Major Peanut Allergens, Shyamali Jayasena, Mieke Smits, Daniëlle Fiechter, Aard De Jong, Julie A. Nordlee, Joe Baumert, Steve L. Taylor, Raymond H. Pieters, Stef J. Koppelman

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Six commercial peanut enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits were assessed for their ability to recover peanut from the standard reference material 2387 peanut butter and also for their specificity in detecting four major peanut allergens, Ara h 1, Ara h 2, Ara h 3, and Ara h 6. The percentage recovery of peanut from peanut butter differed across different kits as well as at different sample concentrations. The highest recovery was observed with the Romer and R-Biopharm kits, while four other kits were found to underestimate the protein content of the reference peanut butter samples. Five of the kits were most …

Characterization Of The Ecological Role Of Genes Mediating Acid Resistance In Lactobacillus Reuteri During Colonization Of The Gastrointestinal Tract, Janina A. Krumbeck, Nathan L Marsteller, Steven Frese, Daniel A. Peterson, Amanda Ramer-Tait, Robert W. Hutkins, Jens Walter

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Rodent-derived strains of Lactobacillus reuteri densely colonize the forestomach of mice and possess several genes whose predicted functions constitute adaptations towards an acidic environment. The objective of this study was to systematically determine which genes of L. reuteri 100-23 contribute to tolerance towards host gastric acid secretion. Genes predicted to be involved in acid resistance were inactivated, and their contribution to survival under acidic conditions was confirmed in model gastric juice. Fitness of five mutants that showed impaired in vitro acid resistance were then compared through competition experiments in ex-germ-free mice that were either treated with omeprazole, a proton-pump inhibitor …

Steps In Metagenomics: Let’S Avoid Garbage In And Garbage Out, Jacques Izard

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Is metagenomics a revolution or a new fad? Metagenomics is tightly associated with the availability of next-generation sequencing in all its implementations. The key feature of these new technologies, moving beyond the Sanger-based DNA sequencing approach, is the depth of nucleotide sequencing per sample.Knowing much more about a sample changes the traditional paradigms of “What is the most abundant?” or “What is the most significant?” to “What is present and potentially sig­nificant that might influence the situation and outcome?” Let’s take the case of identifying proper biomarkers of disease state in the context of chronic disease prevention. Prevention has been …

Molecular Targets Of Antihypertensive Peptides: Understanding The Mechanisms Of Action Based On The Pathophysiology Of Hypertension, Kaustav Majumder, Jianping Wu

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

There is growing interest in using functional foods or nutraceuticals for the prevention and treatment of hypertension or high blood pressure. Although numerous preventive and therapeutic pharmacological interventions are available on the market, unfortunately, many patients still suffer from poorly controlled hypertension. Furthermore, most pharmacological drugs, such as inhibitors of angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE), are often associated with significant adverse effects. Many bioactive food compounds have been characterized over the past decades that may contribute to the management of hypertension; for example, bioactive peptides derived from various food proteins with antihypertensive properties have gained a great deal of attention. Some …

Host Genetics And Diet, But Not Immunoglobulin A Expression, Converge To Shape Compositional Features Of The Gut Microbiome In An Advanced Intercross Population Of Mice, Larry J. Leamy, Scott A. Kelly, Joseph Nietfeldt, Ryan M. Legge, Fangrui Ma, Kunjie Hua, Rohita Sinha, Daniel A. Peterson, Jens Walter, Andrew K. Benson, Daniel Pomp

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background: Individuality in the species composition of the vertebrate gut microbiota is driven by a combination of host and environmental factors that have largely been studied independently. We studied the convergence of these factors in a G₁₀ mouse population generated from a cross between two strains to search for quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that affect gut microbiota composition or ileal Immunoglobulin A (IgA) expression in mice fed normal or high-fat diets.

Results: We found 42 microbiota-specific QTLs in 27 different genomic regions that affect the relative abundances of 39 taxa, including four QTL that were shared between this G …

Beneficial Effects Of Simulated Gastro-Intestinal Digests Of Fried Egg And Its Fractions On Blood Pressure, Plasma Lipids And Oxidative Stress In Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats, Forough Jahandideh, Kaustav Majumder, Subhadeep Chakrabarti, Jude S. Morton, Sareh Panahi, Susan Kaufman, Sandra T. Davidge, Jianping Wu

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background: We have previously characterized several antihypertensive peptides in simulated digests of cooked eggs and showed blood pressure lowering property of fried whole egg digest. However, the long-term effects of this hydrolysate and its fractions on blood pressure are not known. Therefore, the objectives of the study were to determine the effects of long term administration of fried whole egg hydrolysate and its fractions (i.e. egg white and egg yolk) on regulation of blood pressure and associated factors in cardiovascular disease such as plasma lipid profile and tissue oxidative stress.

Methods and Results: We used spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), an …

The Unseen World: Environmental Microbial Sequencing And Identification Methods For Ecologists, Naupaka Zimmerman, Jacques Izard, Christian Klatt, Jizhong Zhou, Emma Aronson

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Archaea, bacteria, microeukaryotes, and the viruses that infect them (collectively “microorganisms”) are foundational components of all ecosystems, inhabiting almost every imaginable environment and comprising the majority of the planet’s organismal and evolutionary diversity. Microorganisms play integral roles in ecosystem functioning; are important in the biogeochemical cycling of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), phosphorus (P), and various metals (eg Barnard et al. 2005); and may be vital to ecosystem responses to large-scale climatic change. Rarely found alone, microorganisms often form complex communities that are dynamic in space and time. For these and other reasons, ecologists and environmental scientists have become …

Biosafety: Evaluation And Regulation Of Genetically Modified (Gm) Crops In The United States, Richard E. Goodman

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

This review of the safety assessment of genetically modified (GM) crops is focused primarily on the process and progress in the United States (US). It reviews the development of the safety evaluation process from the Asilomar conference in 1975 considering issues relevant to recombinant DNA technology, to discussions between the US government, academic and industrial scientists between 1984 and 1994 when the first GM crops were being field tested and evaluated commercial release for food and feed production. International guidelines were also reviewed for consistency with the US system. The overall process includes consideration of information relating to history of …

Advancing The Microbiome Research Community, Curtis Huttenhower, Rob Knight, C. Titus Brown, J. Gregory Caporaso, Jose C. Clemente, Dirk Gevers, Eric A. Franzosa, Scott T. Kelley, Dan Knights, Ruth E. Ley, Anup Mahurkar, Jacques Ravel, Scientists For Advancement Of Microbiome Research, Owen White, Jacques Izard

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The human microbiome has become a recognized factor in promoting and maintaining health. We outline opportunities in interdisciplinary research, analytical rigor, standardization, and policy development for this relatively new and rapidly developing field. Advances in these aspects of the research community may in turn advance our understanding of human microbiome biology.

It is now widely recognized that disturbances in our normal microbial populations may be linked to acute infections such as Clostridium difficile and to chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, obesity, and autoimmune disorders. This has prompted substantial interest in the microbiome from both basic and clinical perspectives. …

生物安全:美国转基因作物的评价与管理, Richard E. Goodman

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

本篇综述侧重于介绍美国本土的转基因作物安全评价的过程和进展。回顾了安全评价程序的建 立过程,从1975年阿西洛马(Asilomar)会议上关于重组DNA技术的问题,自1984-1994年间第一例转基因作 物进行田间试验到评估作为食物和饲料商业化生产时,美国政府、学术界和产业界科学家之间的讨论。此外,一 同回顾国际上的指南与美国的系统。整体过程还要考虑人类接触基因来源和表达蛋白是否有安全的或不安全 的历史。食用蛋白安全性首要考虑因素为某些消费者是否对其过敏或者拥有转基因编码蛋白的IgE抗体,或者 转基因食品会诱发乳糜泻,同时考虑表达蛋白的潜在毒性效果和对人或动物营养的影响。在美国,该过程与国 际食品法典委员会的建议是一致的,它是基于科学的并应用合理的假设。迄今为止,没有证据证明在美国获得 批准的转基因作物危害人或动物的健康。评价要考虑遗传和环境上的变化对植物新品种产物的影响,并坚持转 基因植物食品和非转基因相似物种同样安全的评价原则。

Gmos: Are They A Regulatory Or Food Safety Issue?, Richard E. Goodman

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Most of the genetic diversity that has improved agricultural production throughout the history of farming was developed through natural mutations and selective breeding. However, since the early 1900s plant scientists have used chemical and radiation mutagenesis to increase genetic diversity (18). We know that the majority of mutations are harmful, and plant breeders work hard to select only those that are beneficial. This process has helped feed a growing human population, which is estimated to have been 300 million 2,000 years ago and is now more than 7 billion. However, methods used in the past to improve agricultural production are …

Precautionary Labelling Of Foods For Allergen Content: Are We Ready For A Global Framework?, Katrina J. Allen, Paul J. Turner, Ruby Pawankar, Steve Taylor, Scott Sicherer, Gideon Lack, Nelson Rosario, Motohiro Ebisawa, Gary Wong, E. N. Clare Mills, Kirsten Beyer, Alessandro Fiocchi, Hugh A. Sampson

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Food allergy appears to be on the rise with the current mainstay of treatment centred on allergen avoidance. Mandatory allergen labelling has improved the safety of food for allergic consumers. However an additional form of voluntary labelling (termed precautionary allergen labelling) has evolved on a wide range of packaged goods, in a bid by manufacturers to minimise risk to customers, and the negative impact on business that might result from exposure to trace amounts of food allergen present during cross-contamination during production. This has resulted in near ubiquitous utilisation of a multitude of different precautionary allergen labels with subsequent confusion …

Relating The Metatranscriptome And Metagenome Of The Human Gut, Eric A. Franzosa, Xochitl C. Morgan, Nicola Segata, Levi Waldron, Joshua Reyes, Ashlee M. Earl, Georgia Giannoukos, Matthew R. Boylan, Dawn Ciulla, Dirk Gevers, Jacques Izard, Wendy S. Garrett, Andrew T. Chan, Curtis Huttenhower

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Although the composition of the human microbiome is now well-studied, the microbiota’s > 8 million genes and their regulation remain largely uncharacterized. This knowledge gap is in part because of the difficulty of acquiring large numbers of samples amenable to functional studies of the microbiota. We conducted what is, to our knowledge, one of the first human microbiome studies in a well-phenotyped prospective cohort incorporating taxonomic, metagenomic, and metatranscriptomic profiling at multiple body sites using self-collected samples. Stool and saliva were provided by eight healthy subjects, with the former preserved by three different methods (freezing, ethanol, and RNAlater) to validate self-collection. …

Microbiota, Oral Microbiome, And Pancreatic Cancer, Dominique S. Michaud, Jacques Izard

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Only 30% of patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer survive one year post-diagnosis. Progress in understanding the causes of pancreatic cancer has been made, including solidifying the associations with obesity and diabetes, and a proportion of cases should be preventable through lifestyle modifications. Unfortunately, identifying reliable biomarkers of early pancreatic cancer has been extremely challenging, and no effective screening modality is currently available for this devastating form of cancer. Recent data suggest the microbiota may play a role in the disease process, but many questions remain. Future studies focusing on the human microbiome, both etiologically and as a marker of disease …

A Systems Approach To Designing Next Generation Vaccines: Combining A-Galactose Modified Antigens With Nanoparticle Platforms, Yashdeep Phanse, Brenda R. Carrillo-Conde, Amanda E. Ramer-Tait, Scott Broderick, Chang Sun Kong, Krishna Rajan, Ramon Flick, Robert B. Mandell, Balaji Narasimhan, Michael J. Wannemeuhler

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Innovative vaccine platforms are needed to develop effective countermeasures against emerging and re-emerging diseases. These platforms should direct antigen internalization by antigen presenting cells and promote immunogenic responses. This work describes an innovative systems approach combining two novel platforms, aGalactose (aGal)-modification of antigens and amphiphilic polyanhydride nanoparticles as vaccine delivery vehicles, to rationally design vaccine formulations. Regimens comprising soluble aGal-modified antigen and nanoparticle-encapsulated unmodified antigen induced a high titer, high avidity antibody response with broader epitope recognition of antigenic peptides than other regimen. Proliferation of antigen-specific CD4⁺ T cells was also enhanced compared to a traditional adjuvant. Combining the …

Ara H 6 Complements Ara H 2 As An Important Marker For Ige Reactivity To Peanut, Audrey E. Koid, Martin D. Chapman, Robert G. Hamilton, Ronald Van Ree, Serge A. Versteeg, Stephen C. Dreskin, Stef J. Koppelman, Sabina Wünschmann

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The similarities of two major peanut allergens, Ara h 2 and Ara h 6, in molecular size, amino acid sequence, and structure have made it difficult to obtain natural Ara h 6 free of Ara h 2. The objectives of this study were to purify natural Ara h 6 that is essentially free of Ara h 2 and to compare its IgE reactivity and potency in histamine release assays to Ara h 2. SDS-PAGE of the highly purified allergen (<0.01% Ara h 2) revealed a single 14.5kD band and the identity of Ara h 6 was confirmed by LC-MS/MS. Ara h 6 showed a higher seroprevalence in chimeric-IgE ELISA (n=54), but a weaker biological activity in basophil histamine release assays than Ara h 2. Purified Ara h 6 will be useful for diagnostic IgE antibody assays, as well as molecular and cellular studies to investigate the immunological mechanisms of peanut allergy.

Microbial Successions Are Associated With Changes In Chemical Profiles Of A Model Refrigerated Fresh Pork Sausage During An 80-Day Shelf Life Study, Andrew K. Benson, Jalrus R.D. David, Stefanie Evans Gilbreth, Gordon Smith, Joseph Nietfeldt, Ryan Legge, Jaehyoung Kim, Rohita Sinha, Christopher E. Duncan, Junjie Ma, Indarpal Singh

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Fresh pork sausage is produced without a microbial kill step and therefore chilled or frozen to control microbial growth. In this report, the microbiota in a chilled fresh pork sausage model produced with or without an antimicrobial combination of sodium lactate and sodium diacetate was studied using a combination of traditional microbiological methods and deep pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons. In the untreated system, microbial populations rose from 10² to 10⁶ CFU/g within 15 days of storage at 4°C, peaking at nearly 10⁸ CFU/g by day 30. Pyrosequencing revealed a complex community at day 0, with …

Criteria Used To Categorise Proteins As Allergens For Inclusion In Allergenonline.Org: A Curated Database For Risk Assessment, Richard E. Goodman, Ronald Van Ree, Stefan Vieths, Fatima Ferreira, Motohiro Ebisawa, Hugh A. Sampson, Joseph Baumert, John Wise, Steve L. Taylor

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

New proteins introduced in foods through genetic engineering or processing are often evaluated for potential risks of eliciting food allergy (Codex, 2003). The primary risk is the transfer of an allergen or a protein nearly identical to an allergen and capable of causing IgE mediated cross-reactions into a new food source. The AllergenOnline. org database was developed to provide a curated set of allergenic sequences for bioinformatics comparisons to identify proteins that should be tested further (e.g. serum IgE binding). Curation is necessary as the scientific literature and general sequence databases include thousands of proteins labeled as allergens that lack …

Salmonella Enterica Serovar Typhimurium-Infected Pigs With Different Shedding Levels Exhibit Distinct Clinical, Peripheral Cytokine And Transcriptomic Immune Response Phenotypes, Susan Knetter, Shawn Bearson, Ting-Hua Huang, Dason Kurkiewicz, Martine Schroyen, Dan Nettleton, Daniel Berman, Valorie Cohen, Joan Lunney, Amanda Ramer-Tait, Michael Wannemuehler, Christopher Tuggle

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Foodborne salmonellosis costs the US $2.7 billion/year, including $100.0 million in annual losses to pork producers. Pigs colonized with Salmonella are usually asymptomatic with varied severity and duration of fecal shedding. Thus, understanding the responses that result in less shedding may provide a mechanism for control. Fifty-four pigs were inoculated with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (ST) and clinical signs, fecal ST shedding, growth performance, peripheral cytokines and whole blood gene expression were measured. Persistently shedding (PS) pigs had longer pyrexia and elevated serum IL-1β, TNF-α and IFN-ϒcompared with low shedding (LS) pigs, while LS pigs had brief pyrexia, less shedding …