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Topic Review
Surface Glucan Structures in Aeromonas spp.
Aeromonas spp. are generally found in aquatic environments, although they have also been isolated from both fresh and processed food. These Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria are mostly infective to poikilothermic animals, although they are also considered opportunistic pathogens of both aquatic and terrestrial homeotherms, and some species have been associated with gastrointestinal and extraintestinal septicemic infections in humans. Several cell-surface glucans have been shown to contribute to colonization and survival of Aeromonas pathogenic strains in different hosts, playing important roles in bacterial–host interactions related to pathogenesis These include lipopolysaccharide (LPS), capsule, α-glucan, and glycosylated polar and lateral flagella.
  • 1.2K
  • 06 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Role of Spermidine in Human Pathogenic Viruses Infection
The triamine spermidine is a key metabolite of the polyamine pathway. It plays a crucial role in many infectious diseases caused by viral or parasitic infections. Spermidine and its metabolizing enzymes, i.e., spermidine/spermine-N1-acetyltransferase, spermine oxidase, acetyl polyamine oxidase, and deoxyhypusine synthase, fulfill common functions during infection in parasitic protozoa and viruses which are obligate, intracellular parasites. The competition for this important polyamine between the infected host cell and the pathogen determines the severity of infection in disabling human parasites and pathogenic viruses.
  • 1.2K
  • 16 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Yersinia species and autophagy
Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, Y. enterocolitica and Y. pestis are pathogenic bacteria capable of causing disease in humans by growing extracellularly in lymph nodes and during systemic infections. While the capacity of these bacteria to invade, replicate, and survive within host cells has been known for long, it is only in recent years that their intracellular stages have been explored in more detail. Current evidence suggests that pathogenic Yersinia are capable of activating autophagy in both phagocytic and epithelial cells, subverting autophagosome formation to create a niche supporting bacterial intracellular replication. In this review, we discuss recent results opening novel perspectives to the understanding of intimate host-pathogens interactions taking place during enteric yersiniosis and plague.
  • 1.2K
  • 07 Jan 2021
Topic Review
The Virtuous Galleria mellonella as Scientific Model
The first research on the insect Galleria mellonella was published 85 years ago, and the larva is now widely used as a model to study infections caused by bacterial and fungal pathogens, for screening new antimicrobials, to study the adjacent immune response in co-infections or in host-pathogen interaction, as well as in a toxicity model. The immune system of the G. mellonella model shows remarkable similarities with mammals. Furthermore, results from G. mellonella correlate positively with mammalian models and with other invertebrate models. Unlike other invertebrate models, G. mellonella can withstand temperatures of 37 °C, and its handling and experimental procedures are simpler. Despite having some disadvantages, G. mellonella is a virtuous in vivo model to be used in preclinical studies, as an intermediate model between in vitro and mammalian in vivo studies, and is a great example on how to apply the bioethics principle of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) in animal experimentation. 
  • 1.2K
  • 13 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Biocidal Action of Hydrogen Peroxide Vapour and Mechanism
Disinfection is described as a process that eliminates many or all pathogenic microorganisms on inanimate objects, with the exception of bacterial endospores. Disinfection is usually carried out by chemical or physical means. Among other settings, disinfection is of utmost importance in hospital environments due to pathogens living on hospital surfaces being the direct cause for hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). However, the presence of a wide range of pathogens and biofilms, combined with the indiscriminate use of antibiotics, presents infection control teams in healthcare facilities with ongoing challenges in the selection of biocides and application methods. This necessitates the development of biocides and innovative disinfection methods that overcome the shortcomings of conventional methods. The use of hydrogen peroxide vapour to be a superior alternative to conventional methods. Hydrogen peroxide vapour to be very close to an ideal disinfectant due to its proven efficacy against a wide range of microorganisms, safety to use, lack of toxicity concerns and good material compatibility.
  • 1.2K
  • 14 Mar 2024
Topic Review
African Antivirulence Plants
Antivirulence is the concept of blocking virulence factors produced by pathogenic organism. In regards to bacteria, the idea is to design agents that block virulence rather than kill bacteria population that generate more selective pressure leading to antibiotic resistance. African plants, through their huge biodiversity, present a considerable reservoir of secondary metabolites with a very broad spectrum of biological activities, a potential source of natural products targeting such non-microbicidal mechanisms. 
  • 1.2K
  • 04 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Amyloidogenic Regions in bPaS1
Bacterial S1 protein is a functionally important ribosomal protein. It is a part of the 30S ribosomal subunit and is also able to interact with mRNA and tmRNA. An important feature of the S1 protein family is a strong tendency towards aggregation. 
  • 1.2K
  • 20 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Antimicrobial Lipids from Plants and Marine Organisms
Medicinal plants and marine organisms are natural sources of many antimicrobial compounds. Plant components with antimicrobial activity include alkaloids, sulfur-containing compounds, diterpenes/terpenoids, fatty acids (FA), some carbohydrates, steroidal glycosides, and phenolic compounds. Both primary and secondary metabolites are “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) substances and the chance of triggering antimicrobial resistance is low. The most studied antimicrobial compounds of marine origin are peptides and alkaloids, contrarily to lipids. However, lipids are ubiquitously distributed in the different marine phyla, being quite abundant in some of them. Besides, several lipid classes from marine organisms have been recognized by their biological activity with a high potential to discover new antimicrobial compounds.
  • 1.2K
  • 15 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Nanocellulose-Based Membrane Filtration Material
Nanocellulose is among the emerging materials of this century and several studies have proven its use in filtering microbes. Its high specific surface area enables the adsorption of various microbial species, and its innate porosity can separate various molecules and retain microbial objects.
  • 1.2K
  • 08 Oct 2021
Topic Review
The Weissella Genus: Clinically Treatable Bacteria
Weissella is a genus earlier considered a member of the family Leuconostocaceae, which was reclassified into the family Lactobacillaceae in 1993. There have been studies emphasizing the probiotic and anti-inflammatory potential of various species of Weissella, of which W. confusa and W. cibaria are the most representative. Other species within this genus include: W. paramesenteroides, W. viridescens, W. halotolerans, W. minor, W. kandleri, W. soli, W. ghanensis, W. hellenica, W. thailandensis, W. fabalis, W. cryptocerci, W. koreensis, W. beninensis, W. fabaria, W. oryzae, W. ceti, W. uvarum, W. bombi, W. sagaensis, W. kimchi, W. muntiaci, W. jogaejeotgali, W. coleopterorum, W. hanii, W. salipiscis, and W. diestrammenae.
  • 1.2K
  • 23 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Protein Engineering of Multiheme Cytochromes
Electrogenic microorganisms possess unique redox biological features, being capable of performing Extracellular Electron Transfer (EET) and converting highly toxic compounds into nonhazardous forms. These microorganisms have led to the development of Microbial Electrochemical Technologies (METs), which include applications in the fields of bioremediation and bioenergy production. Geobacter bacteria have served as a model for understanding the mechanisms underlying the phenomenon of EET, which is highly dependent on a multitude of multiheme cytochromes (MCs). MCs are, therefore, logical targets for rational protein engineering to improve the EET rates of these bacteria. In this Review, the main characteristics of electroactive Geobacter bacteria, their potential to develop METs and the main features of MCs are initially highlighted. This is followed by a detailed description of the current methodologies that assist the characterization of the functional redox networks in MCs. Finally, it is discussed how this information can be explored to design optimal Geobacter-mutated strains with improved capabilities in METs.
  • 1.2K
  • 23 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Intestinal Microbiota as a Contributor to Chronic Inflammation
The gut microbiota is a crucial factor in maintaining homeostasis. The presence of commensal microorganisms leads to the stimulation of the immune system and its maturation. In turn, dysbiosis with an impaired intestinal barrier leads to accelerated contact of microbiota with the host’s immune cells. Microbial structural parts, i.e., pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), such as flagellin (FLG), peptidoglycan (PGN), lipoteichoic acid (LTA), and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), induce inflammation via activation of pattern recognition receptors. Microbial metabolites can also develop chronic low-grade inflammation, which is the cause of many metabolic diseases. 
  • 1.2K
  • 29 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Cold-Loving Microorganisms
Cold-loving microorganisms of all three domains of life have unique and special abilities that allow them to live in harsh environments. They have acquired structural and molecular mechanisms of adaptation to the cold that include the production of anti-freeze proteins, carbohydrate-based extracellular polymeric substances and lipids which serve as cryo- and osmoprotectants by maintaining the fluidity of their membranes. They also produce a wide diversity of pigmented molecules to obtain energy, carry out photosynthesis, increase their resistance to stress and provide them with ultraviolet light protection. Recently developed analytical techniques have been applied as high-throughoutput technologies for function discovery and for reconstructing functional networks in psychrophiles. Among them, omics deserve special mention, such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, glycomics, lipidomics and metabolomics. These techniques have allowed the identification of microorganisms and the study of their biogeochemical activities. They have also made it possible to infer their metabolic capacities and identify the biomolecules that are parts of their structures or that they secrete into the environment, which can be useful in various fields of biotechnology.
  • 1.2K
  • 24 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Metabolic Engineering of Wine Strain
The adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) is a technique of strain optimization that assumes serial or continuous culturing of a particular yeast strain for many generations under selective pressure, such as high ethanol content, high osmolarity etc., thus directing the accumulation of mutants with desired phenotype. As compared to stochastic and laborious CSI techniques, ALE methods are more targeted and convenient . The power of this approach towards optimizing wine yeast is exemplified by generation of strains with altered production of important metabolites (ethanol, glycerol, succinic, and acetic acid) and more rapid sugar utilization, strains with increased sulfite tolerance and glycerol accumulation, strains with improved resistance towards KCL-induced osmotic stress with increased glycerol and reduced ethanol content, as well as enhanced viability and resveratrol production.
  • 1.2K
  • 03 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli
Shiga toxins (Stx) of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are generally encoded in the genome of lambdoid bacteriophages, which spend the most time of their life cycle integrated as prophages in specific sites of the bacterial chromosome. Upon spontaneous induction or induction by chemical or physical stimuli, the stx genes are co-transcribed together with the late phase genes of the prophages. After being assembled in the cytoplasm, and after host cell lysis, mature bacteriophage particles are released into the environment, together with Stx. As members of the group of lambdoid phages, Stx phages share many genetic features with the archetypical temperate phage Lambda, but are heterogeneous in their DNA sequences due to frequent recombination events. In addition to Stx phages, the genome of pathogenic STEC bacteria may contain numerous prophages, which are either cryptic or functional. These prophages may carry foreign genes, some of them related to virulence, besides those necessary for the phage life cycle.
  • 1.2K
  • 13 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Diet, Gut Microbiota, and Lung
The gut microbiota is often mentioned as a “forgotten organ” or “metabolic organ”, given its profound impact on host physiology, metabolism, immune function and nutrition. A healthy diet is undoubtedly a major contributor for promoting a “good” microbial community that turns out to be crucial for a fine-tuned symbiotic relationship with the host. Meanwhile, diet is a key modifiable factor influencing the gut microbiota in several lung diseases.
  • 1.2K
  • 25 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Human Coronavirus
Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a large group of viruses common among many animals, including humans. They can cause respiratory illnesses in humans and gastrointestinal illnesses in animals. Under the electron microscope, virions of CoVs have large peplomers that make it look like a crown, hence the name corona, meaning “crown” or “halo. The emerging coronavirus disease (COVID-19) swept across the world, affecting more than 200 countries and territories.
  • 1.2K
  • 20 May 2022
Topic Review
The Microbiome in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma
Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal cancer and less than 10% of patients survive the 5-year mark. The molecular and biological underpinnings leading to this dismal prognosis are well-described, however, translation of these findings with subsequent improvement of the poor prognosis has been slow. The complex and dynamic accumulation of microbes, also called the microbiome, has attracted scientific interest in the pathogenesis of several diseases including pancreatic cancer. Since then, a limited number of significant findings were published pointing towards an important role of the microbiome in cancer, in particular pancreatic cancer.
  • 1.2K
  • 16 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Natural Milk Microbiota
Profound bioactivities of raw breastmilk include benefits attributed to the dense and diverse natural microbiota, termed natural microbiota hereafter. Infants benefit from breastfeeding not just nutritionally, but by both ‘seeding and feeding’ the infant gut , providing microbes that seed the naïve gastrointestinal (GI or gut) ecosystem and nutritive components that feed both infant and microbial cells.
  • 1.2K
  • 11 Nov 2021
Topic Review
The Structure of Diphtheria Toxin
Only three Corynebacterium species are known to produce a lethal exotoxin called diphtheria toxin. These are C. diphtheriae, C. ulcerans and C. pseudotuberculosis. 
  • 1.2K
  • 03 Nov 2022
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