Microbiology Commons^™

An Investigation Of The Composition, Microbial Digestion And Potential Applications Of An Industrial By-Product Of Seaweed Extraction, Juncal Nogales Esteban

Theses

Commercial preparation of seaweed extract from Ascophyllum nodosum, for use as fertilizer and soil improver, produces a residue which requires remediation. This residue is rich in nutrients and offers potential for other added-value products. The residue’s composition and microbial flora were studied, a microbial digestion system was developed, and extracts were screened for anti-hyaluronidase and anti-elastase activities.

The residue had a pH of 8.61±0.39, 16% (w/w) TS which comprised 40.6% minerals, 29.5% fibre, 20.9% lipid, 4.9% protein and 0.48% polyphenols. The microbial digestion included an initial 3-day anaerobic phase during which pH decreased from 9.12 to 7.89. At day 3, …

The Importance Of The Set2 Gene In The Virulence Of Candida Albicans, Molly Marchel

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for BSU Honors Program.

Comparative Analysis Of Hepatic And Pulmonary Immune Mediators During Postnatal Development, Michelle Mack

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Evolution Of Bacteriophages E11/2 And E4/Lc For Control Of Verocytotxigenic E.Coli At Key Stages In The Beef Chain, Bríd Coffey

Theses

The objective of this thesis was lo evaluate the potential of bactcriophages e4/1 c and cl 1/2 ns biocontrol agents for E. coli O157:H7. Initially, e4/lc and el 1/2 were subjected to high-throughput 454 sequencing. The data generated revealed that e4/I c (47,112 bp) is very similar to the lytic E. coli phages RTP and JK06. Interestingly, differences within the tail module led to the identification of a putative site of attachment to E. coli O157:H?. Comparative genomic analysis indicated that el 1/2 (168,470 bp) is a novel member of the T-even group, with high degrees of similarity to T4 …

Campylobacter Ureolyticus: An Emerging Gastrointestinal Pathogen?, Susan Bullman, Daniel Corcoran, James O'Leary, Brigid Lucey, Deirdre Byrne, Roy D. Sleator

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

A total of 7194 faecal samples collected over a 1-year period from patients presenting with diarrhoea were screened for Campylobacter spp. using EntericBios, a multiplex-PCR system. Of 349 Campylobacter-positive samples, 23.8% were shown to be Campylobacter ureolyticus, using a combination of 16S rRNA gene analysis and highly specific primers targeting the HSP60 gene of this organism. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first report of C. ureolyticus in the faeces of patients presenting with gastroenteritis and may suggest a role for this organism as an emerging enteric pathogen.

Two-Phase Partitioning System Using Elvax 40w Polymer For The Biodegradation Of Aqueous Phenols, Amit Suresh Ghode

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A solid-liquid two phase partitioning system (TPPS) is a new technology platform for destroying toxic organic compounds. TPPS have traditionally been operated by using an immiscible organic phase which partitions organic compounds into the aqueous phase. TPPS using an immiscible organic phase suffers from several limitations such as the organic phase could be biodegradable and hence only certain compatible microbial strains could be used. This therefore, eliminates the desired use of mixed microbial populations for efficient degradation. A solid-liquid two phase partitioning system, in which solid polymeric beads replace liquid organic phase, appears to have benefits over the traditional liquid-liquid …

Probiotic Therapy - Recruiting Old Friends To Fight New Foes, Roy D. Sleator

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Against a backdrop of increasing antibiotic resistance, and the emergence of new and evolving pathogens, clinicians are increasingly forced to consider alternative therapies - probiotics are one such alternative.

Role Of Flgt In Anchoring The Flagellum Of Vibrio Cholerae, Raquel M. Martinez, Brooke A. Jude, Thomas J. Kirn, Karen Skorupski, Ronald K. Taylor

Dartmouth Scholarship

Flagellar motility has long been regarded as an important virulence factor. In Vibrio cholerae, the single polar flagellum is essential for motility as well as for proper attachment and colonization. In this study, we demonstrate that the novel flagellar protein FlgT is involved in anchoring the flagellum to the V. cholerae cell. A screen for novel colonization factors by use of TnphoA mutagenesis identified flgT. An in-frame deletion of flgT established that FlgT is required for attachment, colonization, and motility. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that while the flgT mutant is capable of assembling a phenotypically normal flagellum, …

Bacterial Acquisition In Juveniles Of Several Broadcast Spawning Coral Species, Koty H. Sharp, Kim B. Ritchie

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Coral animals harbor diverse microorganisms in their tissues, including archaea, bacteria, viruses, and zooxanthellae. The extent to which coral-bacterial associations are specific and the mechanisms for their maintenance across generations in the environment are unknown. The high diversity of bacteria in adult coral colonies has made it challenging to identify species-specific patterns. Localization of bacteria in gametes and larvae of corals presents an opportunity for determining when bacterial-coral associations are initiated and whether they are dynamic throughout early development. This study focuses on the early onset of bacterial associations in the mass spawning corals Montastraea annularis, M. franksi, M. faveolata, …

Visible And Hyperspectral Imaging Systems For The Detection And Discrimination Of Mechanical And Microbiological Damage Of Mushrooms, Edurne Gaston

Doctoral

Horticultural products such as mushrooms are exposed to environmental conditions during their postharvest life, which may affect product quality. Loss of whiteness during storage is particularly important in the mushroom industry. Rough handling and distribution, fruiting body senescence and bacterial infections are among the main causes of mushroom discolouration. The aim of this work was to study the use of visible and hyperspectral imaging (HSI) systems for the detection and discrimination of mechanical and microbiological damage of mushrooms. This piece of research involved a) monitoring the browning of mushroom with visible computer imaging systems, b) investigating the effect of mechanical …

Bryostatins: Biological Context And Biotechnological Prospects, Amaro E. Trindade-Silva, Grace E. Lim-Fong, Koty H. Sharp

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Coral animals harbor diverse microorganisms in their tissues, including archaea, bacteria, viruses, and Bryostatins are a family of protein kinase C modulators that have potential applications in biomedicine. Found in miniscule quantities in a small marine invertebrate, lack of supply has hampered their development. In recent years, bryostatins have been shown to have potent bioactivity in the central nervous system, an uncultivated marine bacterial symbiont has been shown to be the likely natural source of the bryostatins, the bryostatin biosynthetic genes have been identified and characterized, and bryostatin analogues with promising biological activity have been developed and tested. Challenges in …

Part 1: Screening Of Thirty-One Medicinal Plant Species Against Herpes Simplex Virus, Acetone And Methanol Extracts From The Root Tissue Of Kalanchoe Pinnata Interferes With Hsv Types 1 And 2 Dna Replication And Early And Late Gene Expression Preventing The Spread Of Hsv In Vitro. Part 2: Professional Development Curriculum: Integrating Molecular Biology And Microbiology Into The Existing Secondary Biology Curricula, Mary Ruth Greer

Theses and Dissertations

PART 1: Thirty-one medicinal plant species from Hawaii, Morocco, and the Sonoran Desert, USA have been shown in past studies to be highly inhibitory to pathogenic bacteria, fungi, and certain cancer cell lines. However, none were tested for antiviral activity. Acetone and methanol extracts from these species were bio-assayed for antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 (HSV 1 and HSV 2) and for cytotoxicity to the Vero C1008 cell line. Extracts from these species were tested in vitro for antiviral activity using an immunoperoxidase mini-plaque reduction assay to detect viral structural protein synthesis. Sulforhodamine B and …

Levels Of The Secreted Vibrio Cholerae Attachment Factor Gbpa Are Modulated By Quorum-Sensing-Induced Proteolysis, Brooke A. Jude, Raquel M. Martinez, Karen Skorupski, Ronald K. Taylor

Dartmouth Scholarship

Vibrio cholerae is the etiologic agent of cholera in humans. Intestinal colonization occurs in a stepwise fashion, initiating with attachment to the small intestinal epithelium. This attachment is followed by expression of the toxin-coregulated pilus, microcolony formation, and cholera toxin (CT) production. We have recently characterized a secreted attachment factor, GlcNAc binding protein A (GbpA), which functions in attachment to environmental chitin sources as well as to intestinal substrates. Studies have been initiated to define the regulatory network involved in GbpA induction. At low cell density, GbpA was detected in the culture supernatant of all wild-type (WT) strains examined. In …

Identification Of The [Fefe]-Hydrogenase Responsible For Hydrogen Generation In Thermoanaerobacterium Saccharolyticum And Demonstration Of Increased Ethanol Yield Via Hydrogenase Knockout, A. Joe Shaw, David A. Hogsett, Lee R. Lynd

Dartmouth Scholarship

Three putative hydrogenase enzyme systems in Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum were investigated at the genetic, mRNA, enzymatic, and phenotypic levels. A four-gene operon containing two [FeFe]-hydrogenase genes, provisionally termed hfs (hydrogenase-Fe-S), was found to be the main enzymatic catalyst of hydrogen production. hfsB, perhaps the most interesting gene of the operon, contains an [FeFe]-hydrogenase and a PAS sensory domain and has several conserved homologues among clostridial saccharolytic, cellulolytic, and pathogenic bacteria. A second hydrogenase gene cluster, hyd, exhibited methyl viologen-linked hydrogenase enzymatic activity, but hyd gene knockouts did not influence the hydrogen yield of …

Characterization Of Two Outer Membrane Proteins, Flgo And Flgp, That Influence Vibrio Cholerae Motility, Raquel M. Martinez, Madushini N. Dharmasena, Thomas J. Kirn, Ronald K. Taylor

Dartmouth Scholarship

Vibrio cholerae is highly motile by the action of a single polar flagellum. The loss of motility reduces the infectivity of V. cholerae, demonstrating that motility is an important virulence factor. FlrC is the sigma-54-dependent positive regulator of flagellar genes. Recently, the genes VC2206 (flgP) and VC2207 (flgO) were identified as being regulated by FlrC via a microarray analysis of an flrC mutant (D. C. Morris, F. Peng, J. R. Barker, and K. E. Klose, J. Bacteriol. 190:231-239, 2008). FlgP is reported to be an outer membrane lipoprotein required for motility that functions as a colonization factor. The study reported …

Phenotypic And Genetic Differences In Soil Bacterial Communities Among Successional Stages, Rowena A. G. Hamlet

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The association between soil microbes and plants can influence plant growth and survival as well as alter soil microbial community dynamics. The purpose of this study was to determine how the length of this interaction between plants and bacteria affects the bacterial soil community structure. Soil microbial communities associated with plant communities at different successional stages at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge were investigated. The study sites included three revegetated sites (4 months, 21 months, and 221 months since revegetation) and a control site (native brush, never revegetated). Five soil samples were randomly collected at each site. Soil microbial …

Long-Distance Delivery Of Bacterial Virulence Factors By Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Outer Membrane Vesicles, Jennifer M. Bomberger, Daniel P. Maceachran, Bonita A. Coutermarsh, Siying Ye, George A. O'Toole, Bruce A. Stanton, Frederick M. Ausubel

Dartmouth Scholarship

Bacteria use a variety of secreted virulence factors to manipulate host cells, thereby causing significant morbidity and mortality. We report a mechanism for the long-distance delivery of multiple bacterial virulence factors, simultaneously and directly into the host cell cytoplasm, thus obviating the need for direct interaction of the pathogen with the host cell to cause cytotoxicity. We show that outer membrane–derived vesicles (OMV) secreted by the opportunistic human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa deliver multiple virulence factors, including β-lactamase, alkaline phosphatase, hemolytic phospholipase C, and Cif, directly into the host cytoplasm via fusion of OMV with lipid rafts in the host plasma …

Molecular Characterisation Of A Bovine-Like Rotavirus Detected From A Giraffe, Emily Mulherin, Jill Bryan, Marijke Beltman, Luke O'Grady, Eugene Pidgeon, Lucie Garon, Andrew Lloyd, John Bainbridge, Helen O'Shea, Paul Whyte, Séamus Fanning

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Background

Rotavirus (RV), is a member of the Reoviridae family and an important etiological agent of acute viral gastroenteritis in the young. Rotaviruses have a wide host range infecting a broad range of animal species, however little is known about rotavirus infection in exotic animals. In this paper we report the first characterisation of a RV strain from a giraffe calf.

Results

This report describes the identification and detailed molecular characterisation of a rotavirus strain detected from a 14-day-old Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), presenting with acute diarrhea. The RV strain detected from the giraffe was characterized molecularly as G10P[11]. …

To Love Your Neighbor: A Christian Perspective On The Study Of Microbiology And Immunology, Joy Doan

Faith Learning Integration Papers

I have been blessed with enough of a sense of adventure to have experienced the awe-inspiring beauty of a rain forest at night, the top of Half Dome at Yosemite National Park, the sheer cliffs and rushing waters of the Narrows at Zion National Park, Plateau Point—which seems suspended in the Grand Canyon, and the top of a 14,000-foot peak in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. These are the types of places about which one of the characters in Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance observes, “This is the hardest stuff in the world to photograph. You …

Spatial And Temporal Patterns In The Microbial Diversity Of A Meromictic Soda Lake In Washington State, Pedro A. Dimitriu, Holly C. Pinkart, Brent M. Peyton, Melanie R. Mormile

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

The microbial community diversity and composition of meromictic Soap Lake were studied using culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches. The water column and sediments were sampled monthly for a year. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA genes showed an increase in diversity with depth for both groups. Late-summer samples harbored the highest prokaryotic diversity, and the bacteria exhibited less seasonal variability than the archaea. Most-probable-number assays targeting anaerobic microbial guilds were performed to compare summer and fall samples. In both seasons, the anoxic samples appeared to be dominated by lactate-oxidizing sulfate-reducing prokaryotes. High numbers of lactate- and acetate-oxidizing …

Clostridium Difficile: Comparative Evaluation Of Two Detection Techniques And Characterisation Of Clinical Isolates., Rebecca Dennehy

Theses

Clostridium difficile is one of the most common causes of antibiotic associated diarrhoea. The presence of C difficile in stool samples may be detected by a variety of means including enzyme immunoassays and culture. Enzyme immunoassays detect the presence of the toxins produced by the organism, toxin A and/or toxin B, but are known to lack sensitivity. The aim of this study was to compare the commercial ELISA assay currently used for the detection of C difficile toxins in Waterford Regional Hospital to culture for the organism to selective media. To compare the sensitivity of the two methods serial dilutions …

Sara Of Staphylococcus Aureus Binds To The Sara Promoter To Regulate Gene Expression, Ambrose L. Cheung, Koren Nishina, Adhar C. Manna

Dartmouth Scholarship

The 375-bp sarA open reading frame is driven by three promoters, P1, P3, and P2. Using gel shift and DNase I footprinting assays, we found that SarA binds to two 26-bp sequences and one 31-bp sequence within the P1 and P3 promoters, respectively. Together with the results of transcription analyses, our data indicate that SarA binds to its own promoter to down-regulate sarA expression.

Chemical Defenses: From Compounds To Communities, Valerie J. Paul, Koty H. Sharp

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Marine natural products play critical roles in the chemical defense of many marine organisms and in some cases can influence the community structure of entire ecosystems. Although many marine natural products have been studied for biomedical activity, yielding important information about their biochemical effects and mechanisms of action, much less is known about ecological functions. The way in which marine consumers perceive chemical defenses can influence their health and survival and determine whether some natural products persist through a food chain. This article focuses on selected marine natural products, including okadaic acid, brevetoxins, lyngbyatoxin A, caulerpenyne, bryostatins, and isocyano terpenes, …

Vulnerability Of Pathogenic Biofilms To Micavibrio Aeruginosavorus, Daniel Kadouri, Nel C. Venzon, George A. O'Toole

Dartmouth Scholarship

The host specificity of the gram-negative exoparasitic predatory bacterium Micavibrio aeruginosavorus was examined. M. aeruginosavorus preyed on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as previously reported, as well as Burkholderia cepacia, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and numerous clinical isolates of these species. In a static assay, a reduction in biofilm biomass was observed as early as 3 hours after exposure to M. aeruginosavorus, and an ∼100-fold reduction in biofilm cell viability was detected following a a 24-h exposure to the predator. We observed that an initial titer of Micavibrio as low as 10 PFU/well or a time of exposure to the predator as short as 30 …

Salicylic Acid Activates Sigma Factor B By Rsbu-Dependent And -Independent Mechanisms, Marco Palma, Arnold Bayer, Leon I. Kupferwasser, Tammy Joska, Michael R. Yeaman, Ambrose Cheung

Dartmouth Scholarship

Salicylic acid (SAL) may impact Staphylococcus aureus virulence by activating the sigB operon (rsbU-V-W-sigB), thus leading to reductions in alpha-toxin production and decreased fibronectin binding (L. I. Kupferwasser et al., J. Clin. Investig. 112:222-233, 2003). As these prior studies were performed in strain RN6390 (an rsbU mutant) and its rsbU-repaired variant, SH1000, the current investigation was designed to determine if the SAL effect occurs via rsbU- and/or rsbV-dependent pathways in an rsbU-intact S. aureus strain (FDA486). We thus quantified the transcription from two sigB-dependent promoters (asp23 and sarA P3) in FDA486 in response to SAL exposure in vitro, using isogenic …

Accumulation Of Phycotoxins In The Mussel Mytilus Galloprovincialis From The Central Adriatic Sea, Maja Pavela-Vrančić, Ivana Ujević, Živana Ninčević Gladan, Ambrose Furey

Physical Sciences Publications

Surveys of DSP (Diarrheic Shellfish Poisoning) toxin profiles in the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis from coastal waters of the central Adriatic Sea, over the years 1995 to 2001, demonstrate that incidents of shellfish toxicity in this area are dominated by the occurrence of okadaic acid (OA) and a PTX derivative, 7-epi-pectenotoxin-2-seco acid (7-epi-PTX-2SA). Toxin composition and the relative ratio of toxic components in shellfish is in correlation with the occurrence of DSP producing organisms from the Dinophysis species along with Prorocentrum micans and Lingulodinium polyedrum. The occurrence of D. sacculus shortly before the appearance of OA in shellfish implicates its possible …

The Role Of Cd4 T Cells In The Pathogenesis Of Murine Aids, Wen Li, William R. Green

Dartmouth Scholarship

LP-BM5, a retroviral isolate, induces a disease featuring retrovirus-induced immunodeficiency, designated murine AIDS (MAIDS). Many of the features of the LP-BM5-induced syndrome are shared with human immunodeficiency virus-induced disease. For example, CD4 T cells are critical to the development of MAIDS. In vivo depletion of CD4 T cells before LP-BM5 infection rendered genetically susceptible B6 mice MAIDS resistant. Similarly, MAIDS did not develop in B6.nude mice. However, if reconstituted with CD4 T cells, B6.nude mice develop full-blown MAIDS. Our laboratory has shown that the interaction of B and CD4 T cells that is central to MAIDS pathogenesis requires ligation of …

Keeping Their Options Open: Acute Versus Persistent Infections, S. Furukawa, S. L. Kuchma, G. A. O'Toole

Dartmouth Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Transposon Disruption Of The Complex I Nadh Oxidoreductase Gene (Snod) In Staphylococcus Aureus Is Associated With Reduced Susceptibility To The Microbicidal Activity Of Thrombin-Induced Platelet Microbicidal Protein 1, Arnold S. Bayer, Peter Mcnamara, Michael R. Yeaman, Natalie Lucindo, Tiffanny Jones, Ambrose L. Cheung

Dartmouth Scholarship

The cationic molecule thrombin-induced platelet microbicidal protein 1 (tPMP-1) exerts potent activity against Staphylococcus aureus. We previously reported that a Tn551 S. aureus transposon mutant, ISP479R, and two bacteriophage back-transductants, TxA and TxB, exhibit reduced in vitro susceptibility to tPMP-1 (tPMP-1(r)) compared to the parental strain, ISP479C (V. Dhawan, M. R. Yeaman, A. L. Cheung, E. Kim, P. M. Sullam, and A. S. Bayer, Infect. Immun. 65:3293-3299, 1997). In the current study, the genetic basis for tPMP-1(r) in these mutants was identified. GenBank homology searches using sequence corresponding to chromosomal DNA flanking Tn551 mutant strains showed that the fourth gene …

Gp120 Up-Regulation Of The Mu Opioid Receptor In Tpa Differentiated Hl-60 Cells, Anitha Pallur

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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