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Topic Review
Technologies in Detection of Mycotoxins
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by filamentous fungi that cause harmful effects on human and animal health as well as significant economic losses. As mycotoxins are responsible for food contamination and certain permissible limits have already been established, developing sensitive and reliable methods to detect them is a top priority. Proteomic and genomic methods, molecular techniques, electronic nose, aggregation-induced emission dye, quantitative NMR, and hyperspectral imaging are some innovative techniques which are applied in the analysis and determination of important mycotoxins in foods and are used alternatively in chromatographic techniques. Some of them have proven to be particularly effective in not only the detection of mycotoxins, but also in detecting mycotoxin-producing fungi. As mycotoxin-contaminated foods can appear anywhere in the world through international trade, their detection and identification are considered essential to the protection of human health by providing safe foods free of major food contaminants such as mycotoxins.
  • 2.5K
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Biosynthetic Pathway of Heme b
Hemes belong to a small subgroup of the tetrapyrrole family, which is characterized by the combination of a ferrous ion and a porphyrin macrocycle. The ‘true’ hemes possess a fully oxidized porphyrin macrocycle, including heme a, heme b, heme c, and heme o. Hemes are an important class of prosthetic molecules that play roles in a number of biological processes. The most widespread and ubiquitous is heme b, which plays an important role in transporting oxygen as part of hemoglobin. In addition, heme b is a cofactor for many enzymes, such as myoglobin, cytochrome P450, and peroxidases, and plays significant roles in catalysis, transcription, signaling, and electron transfer. 
  • 2.5K
  • 27 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Skin Microbiota and Cosmetics Influence
Dermatological and cosmetics fields have recently started to focus on the human skin microbiome and microbiota, since the skin microbiota is involved in the health and dysbiosis of the skin ecosystem. Amongst the skin microorganisms, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Cutibacterium acnes, both commensal bacteria, appear as skin microbiota sentinels. These sentinels have a key role in the skin ecosystem since they protect and prevent microbiota disequilibrium by fighting pathogens and participate in skin homeostasis through the production of beneficial bacterial metabolites. These bacteria adapt to changing skin microenvironments and can shift to being opportunistic pathogens, forming biofilms, and thus are involved in common skin dysbiosis, such as acne or atopic dermatitis.
  • 2.5K
  • 24 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Bifunctional Beta-Lactam Antibiotics
The molecular structure of β-lactam antibiotics can be modified either to introduce another β-lactam ring (the pharmacophore conferring bactericidal activities to these molecules), or to add other pharmacophores that modify their pharmacological properties and spectrum of action.
  • 2.5K
  • 07 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Biofilm Formation
Biofilm is a complicated bacterial structure that was first recognized by the Dutch microscopist Anton Van Leeuwenhoek in dental plaque during the 1670s. Until around 50 years ago, very few studies had been performed on biofilm properties. Following the invention of the electron microscopy, it was revealed that biofilm is a microbial community composed of bacteria that is protected by the barrier of an exopolysaccharide matrix. Within this unique structure, microorganisms possess multicellular behavior that is distinct from that of simple planktonic cells, and they are typically at least 500 times more resistant to antibacterial agents. The enclosed environment is beneficial to bacterial survival for extended periods and is thus considered a self-defense measure to safeguard against unfavorable conditions. This drives chronic infection by opportunistic pathogens in which the bacterial community is resistant to antibacterial agents and to host immunity. For instance, the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in clinical specimens is closely associated with a potent ability to produce biofilm. 
  • 2.5K
  • 06 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Fungal Endophytes and Their Benefits for Plants
Plant pathogens are responsible for causing economic and production losses in several crops worldwide, thus reducing the quality and quantity of agricultural supplies. To reduce the usage of chemically synthesized pesticides, strategies and approaches using endophytic microorganisms are being used in plant disease management. Although the term “endophyte” was originally introduced by de Bary in 1866, the most used definition of endophytes was proposed by Petrini in 1991. It refers to a group of organisms “inhabiting plant organs that at some time in their life can colonize internal plant tissues without causing apparent harm to the host”. These endophytes are usually fungi or bacteria that are present in the phyllosphere, endosphere or rhizosphere. These microorganisms live in the tissues of plants without causing any symptoms of disease, leading to beneficial effects for the hosts.
  • 2.4K
  • 21 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Seaweed-Associated Bacteria
Seaweeds are broadly distributed and represent an important source of secondary metabolites (e.g., halogenated compounds, polyphenols) eliciting various pharmacological activities and playing a relevant ecological role in the anti-epibiosis. Importantly, host (as known as basibiont such as algae)–microbe (as known as epibiont such as bacteria) interaction (as known as halobiont) is a driving force for coevolution in the marine environment. 
  • 2.4K
  • 25 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Fusarium graminearum
Fusarium graminearum, the main causal agent of Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), is one of the most damaging pathogens in wheat. Because of the complex organization of wheat resistance to FHB, this pathosystem represents a relevant model to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying plant susceptibility and to identify their main drivers, the pathogen’s effectors. 
  • 2.4K
  • 15 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Microbiological Hazards in Dairy
In Africa, milk production, processing and consumption are integral part of the traditional food supply, with dairy products being a staple component of recommended healthy diets. In this article, we highlight the main microbial food safety hazards in the dairy chain in African. These include risk factors associated with various steps in the dairy chain including primary production, milk collection, storage, packaging, transportation and distribution, traditional milk processing as well as consumer practices.
  • 2.4K
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Eye Diseases Associated with Oral Pathogens
Even before the advancement of sophisticated molecular biology techniques, eye diseases were regarded as manifestations of infections in the mouth. A few of the ancient studies interrelated the resolution of the given disease upon elimination of oral sepsis by extraction of the infected teeth. In this context, bacteria and or their toxic metabolites and reflex nervous irritation were considered to be the crucial factors. In successive years, the concept of “oral foci of infection” lost its attention. Nonetheless, there are many studies successively acknowledged periodontitis as a risk factor in the pathogenesis of assorted inflammatory eye diseases including scleritis, iritis, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy (DR), uveitis, retinitis pigmentosa (RP), and Sjogren syndrome (SS).
  • 2.4K
  • 27 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Bacillus Species and Heavy Metals
 Heavy metals are one of the major pollutants that contribute to the escalating problem of environmental pollution, being primarily introduced in sensitive ecological habitats through industrial effluents, wastewater, as well as sewage of various industries. Microbial bioremediation, particularly the use of bacteria, has gained attention due to the feasibility and efficiency of using them in removing heavy metals from contaminated environments. Bacteria have several methods of processing heavy metals through general resistance mechanisms, biosorption, adsorption, and efflux mechanisms. Bacillus spp. are model Gram-positive bacteria that have been studied extensively for their biosorption abilities and molecular mechanisms that enable their survival as well as their ability to remove and detoxify heavy metals.
  • 2.3K
  • 09 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Intestinal Mucus
Overlying gastrointestinal epithelial cells is the transparent mucus layer that separates the lumen from the host. The dynamic mucus layer serves to lubricate the mucosal surface, to protect under-lying epithelial cells, and as a transport medium between luminal contents and epithelial cells. Furthermore, it provides a habitat for commensal bacteria and signals to the underlying immune system. Mucins are highly glycosylated proteins, and their glycocode is tissue-specific and closely linked to the resident microbiota. 
  • 2.3K
  • 19 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Diet, the Microbiome, and the Intestinal Health
The gut microbiome, or gut microbiota, also termed commensal, refers to the entire microbial community that populates the mammalian gastrointestinal (GI) tract, with the majority residing in the colon. Alterations of the gut microbiome are implicated in many gastrointestinal diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Food components in our diet provide not only nutrients to our body but also substrates for the gut microbial flora. What we eat shapes the structure, composition, and function of the gut microbiome, which interacts with the gut epithelium and mucosal immune system and maintains intestinal homeostasis in a healthy state. There is growing interest in nutritional therapy to target the gut microbiome in IBD. 
  • 2.3K
  • 30 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Lactobacillus reuteri
At the turn of the 20th century, L. reuteri was recorded in scientific classifications of lactic acid bacteria.
  • 2.3K
  • 12 Oct 2022
Topic Review
A Mysterious Health Crisis in Aswan Governorate, Southern Egypt, September 2024
In September 2024, the Egyptian Health Ministry declared an Escherichia coli (E. coli) outbreak in the southern province of Aswan. The spread of an ambiguous illness erupted in the village of Abu Al-Rish Bahri, 20 kilometers north of Aswan, with hundreds of citizens arriving at the governorate’s local hospitals suffering from severe gastrointestinal infections. The authorities, however, did not trace the outbreak’s most common source nor determine whether it was food- or water-borne. The official explanations for the frequent cases and the reported fatalities were inconclusive. There was an evident lack of comprehensive documentation on the extent of the infection, the exposed population, the prevalence pattern of the pathogen, or the retrieved E. coli isolates. In addition, the Egyptian government denied any possible association between the contamination of drinking water and the recent Aswan crisis. Challenging the official narrative, this article proposes a scientific report based on featuring the status of E. coli infection in Egypt, highlighting the gaps in the announced outbreak claims and adapting water pollution as an alarming hypothesis for the peculiar Aswan disease.
  • 2.3K
  • 31 Mar 2025
Topic Review
4-Hydroxybutyrate Containing Polyhydroxyalkanoates Production for Biomedical Applications
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are polyesters having high promise in biomedical applications. Among different types of PHA, poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB) is the only polymer that has received FDA approval for medical applications. However, most PHA producing microorganisms lack the ability to synthesize P4HB or PHA comprising 4-hydroxybutyrate (4HB) monomer due to their absence of a 4HB monomer supplying pathway. Thus, most microorganisms require supplementation of 4HB precursors to synthesize 4HB polymers. 
  • 2.3K
  • 09 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Antimicrobial Resistance in the Pseudomonas fluorescens Complex
Pseudomonas spp. are ubiquitous microorganisms that exhibit intrinsic and acquired resistance to many antimicrobial agents. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most studied species of this genus due to its clinical importance. In contrast, the Pseudomonas fluorescens complex consists of environmental and, in some cases, pathogenic opportunistic microorganisms. The P. fluorescens complex comprises eight groups occupying various ecological niches, namely P. fluorescens, P. gessardii, P. fragi, P. mandelii, P. koreensis, P. jessenii, P. corrugata, and P. chlororaphis.
  • 2.3K
  • 08 Aug 2022
Topic Review
T6SS-mediated Stress Responses Influence
The bacterial type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a protein secretion apparatus widely distributed in Gram-negative bacterial species. Many bacterial pathogens employ T6SS to compete with the host and to coordinate the invasion process. The T6SS apparatus consists of a membrane complex and an inner tail tube-like structure that is surrounded by a contractile sheath and capped with a spike complex. A series of antibacterial or antieukaryotic effectors is delivered by the puncturing device consisting of a Hcp tube decorated by the VgrG/PAAR complex into the target following the con-traction of the TssB/C sheath, which often leads to damage and death of the competitor and/or host cells. As a tool for protein secretion and interspecies interactions, T6SS can be triggered by many different mechanisms to respond to various physiological conditions.
  • 2.3K
  • 25 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Aspergillus oryzae
Aspergillus oryzae is a powerful heterologous expression host for the production of polyketides and terpenoids.
  • 2.3K
  • 25 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Probiotics in Treating Pathogenic Biofilms
Bacterial populations inhabiting a variety of natural and human-associated niches have the ability to grow in the form of biofilms. A large part of pathological chronic conditions, and essentially all the bacterial infections associated with implanted medical devices or prosthetics, are caused by microorganisms embedded in a matrix made of polysaccharides, proteins, and nucleic acids. Biofilm infections are generally characterized by a slow onset, mild symptoms, tendency to chronicity, and refractory response to antibiotic therapy. Even though the molecular mechanisms responsible for resistance to antimicrobial agents and host defenses have been deeply clarified, effective means to fight biofilms are still required. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB), used as probiotics, are emerging as powerful weapons to prevent adhesion, biofilm formation, and control overgrowth of pathogens. Hence, using probiotics or their metabolites to quench and interrupt bacterial communication and aggregation, and to interfere with biofilm formation and stability, might represent a new frontier in clinical microbiology and a valid alternative to antibiotic therapies.
  • 2.3K
  • 05 Jan 2022
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