Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons^™

Investigating Microbial And Host Factors That Modulate Severity Of Clostridioides Difficile Associated Disease, Armando Lerma

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Clostridioides difficile is recognized as one of the most important pathogens in hospital and community healthcare settings. The clinical outcome of infection of toxigenic C. difficile infection (CDI) ranges from asymptomatic colonization to fulminant pseudomembranous colitis and death. In recent studies, it has been suggested that a high proportion of nosocomial CDI cases are transmitted from asymptomatic carriers which might be acting as infection reservoirs. Understanding what causes the different responses to infection could lead to the development of novel prevention and treatment strategies. Although several explanations have been proposed to explain variations in susceptibility, understanding of the exact mechanisms …

Characterization And Investigation Of Fungi Inhabiting The Gastrointestinal Tract Of Healthy And Diseased Humans, Mallory J. Suhr

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Gastrointestinal microbiome studies have failed to include fungi in total community analyses. As a result, their diversity and function in the gut is poorly understood. Recent work has begun to uncover the role intestinal fungi play in diet, immune system development, interactions with other microorganisms in the gut, and pathogenesis of diseases. Advances in sequencing technologies allow for the ability to profile the fungal gut microbiome (“mycobiome”) in healthy and diseased states. This thesis explores the mycobiome in 1) healthy humans with a vegetarian diet and 2) pediatric small bowel transplant recipients that develop fungal bloodstream infections.

The gut mycobiome …

Understanding The Factors Affecting Microbiological Quality Of Wheat Milled Products: From Wheat Fields To Milling Operations, Luis E. Sabillón Galeas

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Although regarded as a low-risk commodity, wheat flour-based mixes have been implicated in several food safety incidents. The present thesis is a compilation of five scientific manuscripts on the effect of weather variation, milling steps and implementation of pre-milling interventions on the microbiological quality and safety of wheat and milled products. The first manuscript is a review of the microbiological quality and safety of wheat-based products. Despite the low water activity, wheat flour may harbor dormant but viable microorganisms, which could lead to safety concerns when flour is used to produce refrigerated dough products. The second manuscript illustrates the effect …

Characterization Of The Gut Microbiota And Colitogenic Bacterial Species In Core 1 O-Glycans Deficient Mice, Maria E. Perez-Munoz

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Mucus is one important component of the intestinal mucosal barrier, and loss of its functionality is associated with colitis in humans and mice. Mice deficient in core 1 O-glycans (TM-IEC C1galt1^-/-) display a thinner mucus layer upon mutation of the glycosyltransferase enzyme (C1GALT1) responsible for core 1 O-glycans attachment, thus constituting an experimental model for human Ulcerative Colitis (UC). Under conventional conditions, these mice experience spontaneous inflammation of the colon. However, the exact role of the microbiota in colitis development in these mice has not been systematically investigated.

Aimed to gain insights into the role of …