Pathogenic Microbiology Commons^™

The Immunomodulating Effects Of Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (Thc) And Cannabidiol (Cbd) In The Context Of Infection, Rose D. Goodman, Kate Rouse, Victor Jimenez

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

A Systematic Review: Toxoplasma Gondii Infection And Drugs Of Abuse, Amani Sastry

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Dha In The Impact Of Trem2 On Microglia Activation And Alzheimer’S Disease, Michael A. Palmieri Iii

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurological disease that is associated with microglia activation. An important receptor involved in microglia activation is Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2). Recent studies suggest that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) could reduce the neuroinflammation that is associated with microglia activation. We hypothesized that when DHA concentration was increased, TREM2 expression would decrease, microglia activity would be inhibited, and a resulting decrease in neuroinflammation would be observed. We examined peer-reviewed journal articles from 2017-2022 that investigated the relationship between TREM2 activation and severity of AD symptoms, the protective properties of DHA against AD, and the …

Alternative Precautionary Measures Yielding Lower C. Diff Infection Rates In Healthcare Facilities, Matthew Kramer

Symposium of Student Scholars

Background: An international healthcare concern is the persistent spread of Clostridium difficile, a Gram-positive spore forming bacterium that is responsible for the most common hospital-acquired infection, amongst patients.

Objective: A systematic review was performed to summarize evidence that the interventions utilized in healthcare facilities which indicate a patient’s precautionary status are insufficient, outdated, and commonly lead to infection in neighboring patient rooms. Databases such as PubMed, NCBI, Google Scholar, and APHA’s Medical Care were searched, covering the period from 2017-2022. Studies were included if their focus concentrated on C. diff and the precautionary measures taken by employees at healthcare …

Characterizing The Cutaneous Microbiome Of Eurycea Lucifuga As A Potential Defense Against Chytridiomycosis, Madeline Key

Senior Honors Theses

Chytridiomycosis is an emerging infectious disease that is significantly reducing global amphibian populations. The disease is caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), a fungus that lethally modifies amphibian skin. Recent research has suggested that the cutaneous microbiome of individual amphibians may play a role in susceptibility to the pathogen. In this study, twelve cave salamanders (Eurycea lucifuga) were collected. Cutaneous bacteria from each salamander were isolated and identified using Sanger Sequencing. Additionally, a Bd-challenge assay was performed to determine each isolate’s antifungal activity. Results indicated many microbial isolates possessed inhibitory capabilities against Bd, which may …

Death Of A Bacterium: Exploring The Inhibition Of Staphylococcus Aureus By Burkholderia Cenocepacia., Tiffany J. Brandt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Antimicrobial resistance is a phenomenon of increasing concern as antimicrobial overuse and misuse eliminate current therapeutic options, ushering society into a post-antimicrobial era. Antibiotic discovery and synthesis efforts are urgently needed to counter the increasing burden of antimicrobial resistance. Staphylococcus aureus is a causative agent of a variety of clinical manifestations including bacteremia, endocarditis, soft tissue infection, osteomyelitis, and device-related infections. S. aureus infection presents additional treatment challenges due to its capacity for biofilm formation, which is a mode of growth that confers protection from antibiotics and physical elimination, and the emergence of antibiotic resistant strains, including methicillin-resistant S. aureus …

Functional Analysis Of Legionella Pneumophila Effector Protein, Shreya Neupane

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Legionella pneumophila is a gram-negative bacterium that causes Legionnaire’s disease (a severe form of pneumonia) in humans. L. pneumophila can cause infection by utilizing its Type IV secretion system, a protein secretion system that transports proteins from the bacterial cytosol into the infected macrophage. Effectors released from the Type Iv secretion system allow L. pneumophila to create a safe environment to survive, replicate and cause infection. One such effector, RavQ, inhibits cell proliferation of mammalian HEK 293T cells and localizes to the cell’s nucleus, leading us to hypothesize that RavQ interferes with cellular activity in the nucleus. To detect its …

The Antimicrobial Resistance Plasmid Mobilome Of Salmonella Enterica And Related Enteric Species And Factors That Influence The Transfer Efficiency., Suad Algarni

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The dynamic distribution of antimicrobial resistance genes in Salmonella enterica is considered a public health risk. S. enterica is one of the most important etiological agents of foodborne illness and has a critical impact on global human health. In S. enterica and related species, mobile genetic elements (MGEs) serve as primary vehicles for the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes in the bacterial evolution. This dissemination can be impacted by different selective pressures that leads to diverse antibiotic response phenotypes. This project focusses on the dynamics of antimicrobial resistance genes, particularly exploring the transfer efficiency of multidrug resistance plasmids in S. …

Comparison Of The Humoral Immune Response Following Both Bacterial Challenge And Rnai Of Major Factors On Proliferation Of Bartonella Quintana In The Human Louse, Jake Zina

Masters Theses

Human body lice, Pediculus humanus humanus, and head lice, Pediculus humanus capitis, have been hematophagous ectoparasites of humans for thousands of years. Despite being ecotypes, only body lice are known to transmit bacterial diseases to humans, and it appears that lower humoral and cellular immune responses allow body lice to possess a higher vector competence. We previously observed that the transcription level of the defensin 1 gene was up-regulated only in head lice following oral challenge of Bartonella quintana, a causative agent of trench fever, and also that body lice excreted more viable B. quintana in their …

Novel Signal Sequences And Fusion Partners For Paratransgenesis In Asaia, Christina Grogan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mosquitoes transmit many pathogens that cause human disease. One such disease, malaria, is caused by parasites in the genus Plasmodium, infecting over 200 million people and killing over 600,000 per year. Current strategies to control vector-transmitted diseases are increasingly undermined by mosquito and pathogen resistance. Research has turned to additional and novel methods of control, such as altering the microbiota of the vectors. In this method, called paratransgenesis, symbiotic bacteria are genetically modified to affect the mosquito’s phenotype by engineering them to deliver antiplasmodial molecules into the midgut to kill parasites. These molecules must be released by the …

Identification And Characterization Of Genetic Elements That Regulate A C-Di-Gmp Mediated Multicellular Trait In Pseudomonas Fluorescens, Collin Kessler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Microbial communities contain densely packed cells where competition for space and resources are fierce. These communities are generally referred to as biofilms and provide advantages to individual cells against immunological and antimicrobial intervention, dehydration, and predation. High intracellular pools of cyclic diguanylate monophosphate (c-di-GMP) cause cells to aggregate during biofilm formation through the production of diverse extracellular polymers. Genes that encode c-di-GMP catalytic enzymes are commonly mutated during chronic infections where opportunists display enhanced resistance to phagocytosis and antibiotics. Our lab uses an emergent multicellular trait in the model organism Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf0-1 to study the emergence of c-di-GMP mutations …

Genome Sequence Of Sn1, A Bacteriophage That Infects Sphaerotilus Natans And Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, K.M. Damitha Gunathilake, Denise M. Tremblay, Pier-Luc Plante, Ellen Jensen, Kenneth Nickerson, Sylvain Moineau

Kenneth Nickerson Papers

Phage SN1 infects Sphaerotilus natans and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains. Its genome consists of 61,858 bp (64.3% GC) and 89 genes, including 32 with predicted functions. SN1 genome is very similar to Pseudomonas phage M6, which contains hypermodified thymidines. Genome analyses revealed similar base-modifying genes as those found in M6.

Phage SN1 was isolated in 1979 from activated sludge samples obtained from a wastewater treatment plant (Lincoln, Nebraska, USA) using S. natans ATCC 13338 as the host (1, 2). An early study showed that the siphophage SN1 has unusual bases in its genome as confirmed by cellulose thin-layer chromatography (1). Its …

The Effects Of Short Chain Fatty Acids On Clostridioides Difficile Growth, Sporulation, And Toxin Production, Michelle Baldassare

All Theses

Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are products of bacterial fermentation that help maintain important gut functions such as the intestinal barrier, signaling, and immune homeostasis. The main SCFAs acetate, propionate, and butyrate have demonstrated beneficial effects for the host, including importance in combatting infections caused by pathogens such as Clostridioides difficile. C. difficile infection (CDI) is a public health concern and causes 30,000 deaths each year mainly due to the overuse of antibiotics. Despite the potential role of SCFAs in mitigating C. difficile infection, their direct effect on C. difficile remains unclear. Through a set of in-vitro experiments, we …

Bacterial Chondronecrosis With Osteomyelitis In Broilers: Genomics, Phylogenomics, And Methods To Detect Specific Pathogens During Outbreaks., Abdulkarim Abdulaziz A. Shwani

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lameness is a major issue in animal welfare and the broiler industry. Bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis (BCO) is one of the main causes of lameness. Many staphylococcal species, including Staphylococcus agnetis isolate 908, have been isolated from the bones and blood of lame broilers at the University of Arkansas. Staphylococcus agnetis is a coagulase-variable, Gram-positive bacterial species that has been previously associated with subclinical or mild clinical cases of mastitis in dairy cattle. The annotated complete genome of hypervirulent strain 908 was published at NCBI. In this study, it has been compared to nine genomes we assembled for hypervirulent isolates …

Characterization Of Genetic Pathways Involved In Resistance To A Novel Antifungal Peptide, Kayla L. Haberman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Antibiotic resistance is increasing prevalence, particularly in Candida glabrata. This opportunistic pathogen is closely phylogenetically related to Saccharomyces cerevisiae; however, its characterization is limited. C. glabrata is only second to Candida albicans as a fungal pathogen in immunocompromised patients. Commonly resistant to azoles, the most common fungal therapy, it has become costly and challenging to treat. A histatin 5 derived antifungal peptide, KM29, has a high degree of efficacy in Candida species and S. cerevisiae. The objective of this work is to advance our understanding of the mechanism of action of KM29 against C. glabrata. Previous work in the lab …

Weaving An Interdisciplinary Microbiome Career Using Threads From Different Ecosystems, Sarah Hosler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Animals have trillions of microorganisms living in or on many body sites, these communities of microorganisms are called microbiomes. Microbiomes are typically host-specific, and a lot of information about the host can be determined from investigating them. Microbiome research has many real-world applications, and this thesis utilizes the One Health perspective, which acknowledges the connection of humans, animals, and environments, and emphasizes the need for collaborative, interdisciplinary research. The first interdisciplinary project is an investigation into the bacteria in wild and cultured Atlantic deep-sea scallop, Placopecten magellanicus larvae. Adults in hatcheries can be induced to spawn, but the last two …

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Mucosal Attachment And Colonization By Clostridioides Difficile, Ben Sidner

Dissertations, Theses, & Student Research in Food Science and Technology

Clostridioides difficile is a Gram-positive, spore-forming, anaerobic bacterium which causes gastrointestinal disease and is a leading cause of nosocomial infections. Although infection typically occurs following antibiotic therapy, in recent years there has been an increase in infections which are not preceded by antibiotic use. Additionally, community-associated infections and rates of disease recurrence have increased. While it is understood that a healthy gastrointestinal microbiota provides protection against infection, the molecular mechanisms which underly C. difficile's ability to colonize and persist in the gut are mostly unknown. Building on work from others that suggests C. difficile associates with the outer mucus …

Biowill - Characterising Willow Bark Bio-Actives For Skin Therapies, Arnold Marisa

ORBioM (Open Research BioSciences Meeting)

Willow bark is considered as a disposable by-product when processing willow for biomass. Willow (Salix) is known to contain high value bioactive compounds which include salicin and its derivatives, and other phytochemicals of interest such as polyphenols and flavonoids. The plant is historically known as the primary source of salicylates to which the well-known drug aspirin is derived from. The work forms part of the Interreg project BioWILL, which is focused on integrated “Zero Waste” biorefinery utilising all fractions of willow feedstock for the production of biochemicals and renewable energy. This project aims to investigate the crude and …

Investigation Of The Urobiome For The Production Of Novel Antimicrobials Against Uropathogenic E. Coli (Upec), Jennifer Jones

ORBioM (Open Research BioSciences Meeting)

BACKGROUND: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common bacterial infections globally with antibiotic treatment becoming increasingly less effective. The urobiome remains a relatively understudied niche as a source of potentially novel antimicrobials (e.g., bacteriocins). Improvements to bacterial culturing and sequencing techniques have highlighted the potentially rich source of alternative treatments and control strategies to target uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: (a) BAGEL 4 was used for bioinformatic screening of the genomes of urobiome isolates to identify bacteriocin gene clusters (BGC).

(b) Expanded quantitative urine culture (EQUC) was used to culture mid-stream urine samples to isolate …

Analysis Of Soxs In S. Typhimurium By Transposon Mutagenesis, Joel Hanns, Brenda Pratte, Lon Chubiz Phd, Lauren Daugherty

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The mar-sox-rob regulon has been implicated in transcriptional regulation of several stress responses, such efflux of antibiotics, enzymes that break down reactive oxygen species, repression of biofilm formation, or repression of motility through downregulation of flagellar expression. This system is conserved among enteric bacteria and has been studied in species, such as E. coli and S. typhimurium. Some of these mechanisms can be costly and slow cell growth while increasing the probability of survival through tolerance of toxic environments. SoxS works in coordination with SoxR to respond to redox stress encountered by the cell. Interestingly, the overexpression of SoxS …