Food Science Commons^™

Polyanhydride Nanoparticles Induce Low Inflammatory Dendritic Cell Activation Resulting In Cd8+ T Cell Memory And Delayed Tumor Progression, Ross Darling, Sujata Senapati, John Christiansen, Luman Liu, Amanda E. Ramer-Tati, Balaji Narasimhan, Michael Wannemuehler

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Introduction: Adjuvants and immunotherapies designed to activate adaptive immunity to eliminate infectious disease and tumors have become an area of interest aimed at providing a safe and effective strategy to prevent or eliminate disease. Existing approaches would benefit from the development of immunization regimens capable of inducing efficacious cell- mediated immunity directed toward CD8+ T cell-specific antigens. This goal is critically dependent upon appropriate activation of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) most notably dendritic cells (DCs). In this regard, polyanhydride particles have been shown to be effectively internalized by APCs and induce activation.

Methods: Here, a prophylactic vaccine regimen designed as a …

The Trait Repertoire Enabling Cyanobacteria To Bloom Assessed Through Comparative Genomic Complexity And Metatranscriptomics, Huansheng Cao, Yohei Shimura, Morgan M. Steffen, Zhou Yang, Jingrang Lu, Allen Joel, Landon Jenkins, Masanobu Kawachi, Yabin Yin, Ferran Garcia-Pichel

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Water bloom development due to eutrophication constitutes a case of niche specialization among planktonic cyanobacteria, but the genomic repertoire allowing bloom formation in only some species has not been fully characterized. We posited that the habitat relevance of a trait begets its underlying genomic complexity, so that traits within the repertoire would be differentially more complex in species successfully thriving in that habitat than in close species that cannot. To test this for the case of bloom-forming cyanobacteria, we curated 17 potentially relevant query metabolic pathways and five core pathways selected according to existing ecophysiological literature. The available 113 genomes …

Desiccation Tolerance In Streptophyte Algae And The Algae To Land Plant Transition: Evolution Of Lea And Mip Protein Families Within The Viridiplantae, Burkhard Becker, Xuehuan Feng, Yanbin Yin, Andreas Holzinger

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The present review summarizes the effects of desiccation in streptophyte green algae, as numerous experimental studies have been performed over the past decade particularly in the early branching streptophyte Klebsormidium sp. and the late branching Zygnema circumcarinatum. The latter genus gives its name to the Zygenmatophyceae, the sister group to land plants. For both organisms, transcriptomic investigations of desiccation stress are available, and illustrate a high variability in the stress response depending on the conditions and the strains used. However, overall, the responses of both organisms to desiccation stress are very similar to that of land plants. We highlight the …

Identification Of Simplified Microbial Communities That Inhibit Clostridioides Difficile Infection Through Dilution/Extinction, Jennifer M. Auchtung, Eva C. Preisner, James Collins, Armando I. Lerma, Robert A. Britton

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The gastrointestinal microbiome plays an important role in limiting susceptibility to infection with Clostridioides difficile. To better understand the ecology of bacteria important for C. difficile colonization resistance, we developed an experimental platform to simplify complex communities of fecal bacteria through dilution and rapidly screen for their ability to resist C. difficile colonization after challenge, as measured by 􏰀100-fold reduction in levels of C. difficile in challenged communities. We screened 76 simplified communities diluted from cultures of six fecal donors and identified 24 simplified communities that inhibited C. difficile colonization in vitro. Sequencing revealed that simplified communities were composed of …

Microbiota In Vitro Modulated With Polyphenols Shows Decreased Colonization Resistance Against Clostridioides Difficile But Can Neutralize Cytotoxicity, Aleksander Mahnic, Jennifer M. Auchtung, Nataša Poklar Ulrih, Robert A. Britton, Maja Rupnik

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

While the knowledge on gut microbiota - C. difficile interactions has improved over the years, the understanding of the underlying mechanisms providing colonization resistance as well as preventative measures against the infection remain incomplete. in this study the antibiotic clindamycin and polyphenol extracts from pomegranate and blueberries were used individually and in combination to modulate fecal microbial communities in minibioreactor arrays (MBRA). Modulated communities were inoculated with C. difficile (ribotype 027). Subsequent 7-day periodical monitoring included evaluation of C. difficile growth and activity of toxins tcdA and tcdB as well as analysis of MBRA bacterial community structure (V3V4 16 S …

Tdt Sandwich: An Open Source Dry Heat System For Characterizing The Thermal Resistance Of Microorganisms, Soon Kiat Lau, Jeyamkondan Subbiah

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The determination of the thermal death kinetics of microorganisms has traditionally been performed with liquid baths which have some disadvantages such as liquid spillage and liquid infiltration into samples. The TDT Sandwich was developed as a free, open source alternative that utilizes dry heat. The system is capable of heating samples up to 140C and maintaining it within 0.2C of the target temperature. Other features of the TDT Sandwich include adjustable heating rates up to approximately 100C/min, real-time display and recording of temperature readings at a nominal rate of 5 Hz, an optional thermocouple for acquiring temperature of samples, built-in …

Humidosh: A Self-Contained Environmental Chamber With Controls For Relative Humidity And Fan Speed, Soon Kiat Lau, Jeyamkondan Subbiah

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Relative humidity can affect physical, biological, and chemical changes in biological samples through modification of water activity and is also known to be important in the fabrication of sensitive electronic devices. The HumidOSH is a free, open source, and self-contained system for creating a controlled relative humidity environment within the range of 3 to 97% with a 0.2% tolerance. Each HumidOSH unit also comes with a fan with adjustable fan rotational speed to improve moisture uniformity inside the chamber. The system includes many additional features such as glove ports for manipulating samples, a sample door for transferring objects in and …

A High-Throughput Lc-Ms/Ms Method For The Measurement Of The Bile Acid/Salt Content In Microbiome-Derived Sample Sets, Thomas D. Horvath, Sigmund J. Haidacher, Kathleen M. Hoch, Jennifer M. Auchtung, Anthony M. Haag

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Due to the physicochemical properties of bile acids/salts (i.e., hydrophobic and ionizable), the application of reverse-phase liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based methods are ideally suited for the measurement of these compounds in a host of microbiologically-relevant matrices. Here, we provide a detailed bioanalytical protocol that contains several modifications of a method previously described by Wegner et al. [1]. Briefly, this modified method exhibits the following advantages for the measurement of cholic acid (CA), taurocholic acid (TCA), and deoxycholic acid (DCA) in microbiome-relevant sample matrices: i) fecal sample processing has been streamlined by the elimination of lyophilization and manual homogenization steps; …

Phytochemical Characterization Of Ultrasound-Processed Sorghum Sprouts For The Use In Functional Foods, Sadia Hassan, Muhammad Imran, Muhammad Haseeb Ahmad, Muhammad Imran Khan, Changmou Xu, Muhammad Kamran Khan, Niaz Muhammad

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

In the recent years, application of ultrasound has been taken into considera- tion to enhance the nutritive value of processed food products, either by retaining or modulating their phytochemical components. Profile of phyto- chemicals in sorghum seeds was amended by optimizing ultrasound appli- cation for their use as sprouts. In this study, overall impact on various phytochemical constituents (alkaloids, phytates, saponins, and sterols), radi- cal scavenging activity (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay, ferric reducing antioxidant power assay, and oxygen radical absorbance capacity assay assay), phenolic profile (total phenolics content, total flavonoids content, ferulic acid, gallic acid, catechin, quercetin, and tannin) along with in …

Fecal Short-Chain Fatty Acid Concentrations Increase In Newly Paired Male Marmosets (Callithrix Jacchus), Lifeng Zhu, Mallory J. Suhr Van Haute, Haley R. Hassenstab, Caroline Smith, Devin J. Rose, Aaryn C. Must, Andrew K. Benson, Jeffrey A. French

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The role by which the gut microbiome influences host health (e.g., energy equilibrium and immune system) may be partly mediated by short-chain fatty acids, which are bacterial fermentation products from the dietary fibers. However, little is known about longitudinal changes in gut microbiome metabolites during cohabitation alongside social contact. In common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus), the gut microbiome community is influenced by social contact, as newly paired males and females develop convergent microbial profiles. Here, we monitored the dynamics of short-chain fatty acid concentrations in common marmoset feces from the prepairing (PRE) to postpairing (POST) stages. In males, we observed that …

Acrfinder: Genome Mining Anti-Crispr Operons In Prokaryotes And Their Viruses, Haidong Yi, Le Huang, Bowen Yang, Javi Gomez, Han Zhang, Yanbin Yin

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Anti-CRISPR (Acr) proteins encoded by (pro)phages/(pro)viruses have a great potential to enable a more controllable genome editing. However, genome mining new Acr proteins is challenging due to the lack of a conserved functional domain and the low sequence similarity among experimentally char- acterized Acr proteins. We introduce here AcrFinder, a web server (http://bcb.unl.edu/AcrFinder) that combines three well-accepted ideas used by pre- vious experimental studies to pre-screen genomic data for Acr candidates. These ideas include ho- mology search, guilt-by-association (GBA), and CRISPR-Cas self-targeting spacers. Compared to existing bioinformatics tools, AcrFinder has the following unique functions: (i) it is the first online …

Chronological Set Of E. Coli O157:H7 Bovine Strains Establishes A Role For Repeat Sequences And Mobile Genetic Elements In Genome Diversification, Eliot Stanton, Taylor A. Wahlig, Dongjin Park, Charles W. Kaspar

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background: Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EHEC) is a significant foodborne pathogen that resides asymptomatically within cattle and other ruminants. The EHEC genome harbors an extensive collection of mobile genetic elements (MGE), including multiple prophage, prophage-like elements, plasmids, and insertion sequence (IS) elements.

Results: A chronological collection of EHEC strains (FRIK804, FRIK1275, and FRIK1625) isolated from a Wisconsin dairy farm (farm X) comprised a closely related clade genetically differentiated by structural alterations to the chromosome. Comparison of the FRIK804 genome with a reference EHEC strain Sakai found a unique prophage like element (PLE, indel 1) and an inversion (1.15 Mb) situated …

Wild Primate Microbiomes Prevent Weight Gain In Germ-Free Mice, Dimitrios N. Sidiropoulos, Gabriel A. Al-Ghalith, Robin R. Shields-Cutler, Tonya L. Ward, Abigail J. Johnson, Pajau Vangay, Dan Knights, Purna C. Kashyap, Yibo Xian, Amanda E. Ramer-Tait, Jonathan B. Clayton

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background: The gut microbiome harbors trillions of bacteria that play a major role in dietary nutrient extraction and host metabolism. Metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes are associated with shifts in microbiome composition and have been on the rise in Westernized or highly industrialized countries. At the same time, Westernized diets low in dietary fiber have been shown to cause loss of gut microbial diversity. However, the link between microbiome composition, loss of dietary fiber, and obesity has not been well defined.

Results: To study the interactions between gut microbiota, dietary fiber, and weight gain, we transplanted captive and …

Insights Into The Genetic Architecture Of Bran Friability And Water Retention Capacity, Two Important Traits For Whole Grain End-Use Quality In Winter Wheat, Sviatoslav Navrotskyi, Vikas Belamkar, P. Stephen Baenziger, Devin J. Rose

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Bran friability (particle size distribution after milling) and water retention capacity (WRC) impact wheat bran functionality in whole grain milling and baking applications. The goal of this study was to identify genomic regions and underlying genes that may be responsible for these traits. The Hard Winter Wheat Association Mapping Panel, which comprised 299 lines from breeding programs in the Great Plains region of the US, was used in a genome-wide association study. Bran friability ranged from 34.5% to 65.9% (median, 51.1%) and WRC ranged from 159% to 458% (median, 331%). Two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on chromosome 5D were significantly associated …

Mucosa-Associated Microbiota In Barrett’S Esophagus, Dysplasia, And Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Differ Similarly Compared With Healthy Controls, Shajan Peter, Amanda Pendergraft,, William Vanderpol, Mel Wilcox, Kondal R. Kyanam Kabir Baig, Casey Morrow, Jacques Izard, Peter J. Mannon

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Introduction: Alterations in the composition of the human gut microbiome and its metabolites have been linked to gut epithelial neoplasia. We hypothesized that differences in mucosa-adherent Barrett’s microbiota could link to risk factors, providing risk of progression to neoplasia.

Methods: Paired biopsies from both diseased and nonaffected esophagus (as well as gastric cardia and gastric juice for comparison) from patients with intestinal metaplasia (n = 10), low grade dysplasia (n = 10), high grade dysplasia (n = 10), esophageal adenocarcinoma (n = 12), and controls (n = 10) were processed for mucosa-associated bacteria …

Stool Microbiome, Ph And Short/Branched Chain Fatty Acids In Infants Receiving Extensively Hydrolyzed Formula, Amino Acid Formula, Or Human Milk Through Two Months Of Age, Car Reen Kok, Bradford Brabec, Maciej Chichlowski, Cheryl L. Harris, Nancy Moore, Jennifer L. Wampler, Jon Vanderhoof, Devin Rose, Robert W. Hutkins

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background: Early infant feeding with intact or extensively hydrolyzed (EH) proteins or free amino acids (AA) may differentially affect intestinal microbiota composition and immune reactivity. This multicenter, double-blind, controlled, parallel-group, pilot study compared stool microbiota from Baseline (1–7 days of age) up to 60 days of age in healthy term infants who received mother’s own milk (assigned to human milk [HM] reference group) (n = 25) or were randomized to receive one of two infant formulas: AA-based (AAF; n = 25) or EH cow’s milk protein (EHF; n = 28). Stool samples were collected (Baseline, Day 30, Day 60) and …

Point-Of-Decision Prompts Increase Dietary Fiber Content Of Consumers’ Food Choices In An Online Grocery Shopping Simulation, Kristina Arslain, Christopher Gustafson, Devin J. Rose

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Abstract: Only 5% of Americans consume the recommended amount of dietary fiber. In an online simulated shopping experiment, we examined whether a fiber-focused point-of-decision prompt (PDP) would influence consumers to choose food products that were higher in this important nutrient. We hypothesized that participants exposed to the dietary fiber PDP would choose products with more dietary fiber/serving than those who were not exposed to the PDP. The experiment was completed by 753 participants. Participants were randomly assigned to a condition in which they were not exposed to a PDP (the no-PDP condition), a personalized PDP, or PDP without personalization. Choices …

Expression Profiling Of Human Milk Derived Exosomal Micrornas And Their Targets In Hiv‐1 Infected Mothers, Muhammad Atif Zahoor, Mcmaster University, Hamilton, Bethany M. Henrick, Chris P. Verschoor, Alash’Le Abimiku, Sophia Osawe, Kenneth L. Rosenthal

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Despite the use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in HIV‐1 infected mothers approximately 5% of new HIV‐1 infections still occur in breastfed infants annually, which warrants for the development of novel strategies to prevent new HIV‐1 infections in infants. Human milk (HM) exosomes are highly enriched in microRNAs (miRNAs), which play an important role in neonatal immunity. Furthermore, HM exosomes from healthy donors are known to inhibit HIV‐1 infection and transmission; however, the effect of HIV‐1 on HM exosomal miRNA signatures remains unknown. In this study, we used nCounter NanoString technology and investigated miRNAs expression profiles in first week postpartum HM …

The International Scientific Association For Probiotics And Prebiotics (Isapp) Consensus Statement On The Definition And Scope Of Synbiotics, Kelly S. Swanson, Glenn R. Gibson, Robert W. Hutkins, Raylene A. Reimer, Gregor Reid, Kristin Verbeke, Karen P. Scott, Hannah D. Holscher, Meghan B. Azad, Nathalie M. Delzenne, Mary Ellen Sanders

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

In May 2019, the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) convened a panel of nutritionists, physiologists and microbiologists to review the definition and scope of synbiotics. The panel updated the definition of a synbiotic to “a mixture comprising live microorganisms and substrate(s) selectively utilized by host microorganisms that confers a health benefit on the host”. The panel concluded that defining synbiotics as simply a mixture of probiotics and prebiotics could suppress the innovation of synbiotics that are designed to function cooperatively. Requiring that each component must meet the evidence and dose requirements for probiotics and prebiotics individually could …

Effect Of Scanning Samples Through Polypropylene Film On Predicting Nitrogen Content Of Forage Using Handheld Nir, Isaac R. Rukundo, Mary-Grace C. Danao, Robert B. Mitchell, Steven D. Masterson, Randy Wehling, Curtis L. Weller

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

This study examined the effect of collecting near infrared (NIR) spectra of forage samples through a transparent polypropylene (PP) plastic film instead of glass cups on calibrating two handheld NIR spectrometers to nitrogen content (N). The first device was a transportable spectrometer (H1) covering 790–2500 nm at 1 nm interval, while the second device was a smartphone spectrometer (H2) covering 900–1700 nm at 4 nm interval. The spectra from each spectrometer were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) to identify wavebands for PP packaging that would interfere in subsequent partial least squares (PLS) regression modeling to predict N. PCA results …