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Microorganisms, Volume 6, Issue 4

December 2018 - 33 articles

Cover Story: STEC is a foodborne pathogen transmitted mainly by undercooked meat, contaminated fruits, vegetables, and water, but also the person to person route has been recently highlighted. Shiga toxin (Stx) is the main virulence factor of STEC and is responsible for developing a systemic complication known as Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), characterized by hemolytic anemia thrombocytopenia and acute renal failure. STEC can produce Stx type 1 and/or 2 (Stx1, Stx2) and their variants, with Stx2 being more frequently associated with severe cases of HUS. Some experimental data suggest that Stx2 may impair pregnancy. We have proposed that symptomatic or asymptomatic STEC infections during early or late human pregnancy may cause maternal or fetal damage mediated by Stx2. In this article, we provide a brief overview of Stx2 action on placental tissues and discuss whether they might cause pregnancy loss or preterm birth, and what mechanisms could be involved in the aforementioned detrimental effects.
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Articles (33)

  • Review
  • Open Access
19 Citations
6,747 Views
22 Pages

Distinctive Nuclear Features of Dinoflagellates with A Particular Focus on Histone and Histone-Replacement Proteins

  • Sadaf Riaz,
  • Zhenghong Sui,
  • Zeeshan Niaz,
  • Sohrab Khan,
  • Yuan Liu and
  • Haoxin Liu

Dinoflagellates are important eukaryotic microorganisms that play critical roles as producers and grazers, and cause harmful algal blooms. The unusual nuclei of dinoflagellates “dinokaryon” have led researchers to investigate their enigma...

  • Article
  • Open Access
6 Citations
5,407 Views
17 Pages

Monoclonal antibodies against Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (Map) proteins are important tools in Johne’s disease research and diagnostics. Johne’s disease is a chronic inflammatory intestinal disease of cattle, sheep, a...

  • Article
  • Open Access
13 Citations
4,560 Views
12 Pages

Presence of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in Fresh Beef Marketed in 13 Regions of ITALY (2017)

  • Bianca Maria Varcasia,
  • Francesco Tomassetti,
  • Laura De Santis,
  • Fabiola Di Giamberardino,
  • Sarah Lovari,
  • Stefano Bilei and
  • Paola De Santis

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in fresh beef marketed in 2017 in 13 regions of Italy, to evaluate the potential risk to human health. According to the ISO/TS 13136:2012 standard, 239 sa...

  • Article
  • Open Access
11 Citations
6,409 Views
16 Pages

The Isolation and Identification of Bacteria on Feathers of Migratory Bird Species

  • Antonella Giorgio,
  • Salvatore De Bonis,
  • Rosario Balestrieri,
  • Giovanni Rossi and
  • Marco Guida

Worldwide, bacteria are the most ubiquitous microorganisms, and it has been extensively demonstrated that migratory wild birds can increase bacterial global scale dispersion through long-distance migration and dispersal. The microbial community hoste...

  • Article
  • Open Access
58 Citations
5,875 Views
20 Pages

The emergence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a global concern. The use of bacteriophages (or phages) alone or combined with antibiotics is consolidating itself as an alternative approach to inactivate antibiotic-resistant bacteria. However,...

  • Article
  • Open Access
22 Citations
4,719 Views
11 Pages

Candidemia cases have been increasing, especially among immunosuppressed patients. Candida glabrata is one of the most resistant Candida species, especially to the azole drugs, resulting in a high demand for therapeutic alternatives. The minimum inhi...

  • Article
  • Open Access
57 Citations
7,096 Views
11 Pages

Antimicrobial Activity of Several Cineole-Rich Western Australian Eucalyptus Essential Oils

  • Fahad S. Aldoghaim,
  • Gavin R. Flematti and
  • Katherine A. Hammer

Essential oils from the Western Australian (WA) Eucalyptus mallee species Eucalyptus loxophleba, Eucalyptus polybractea, and Eucalyptus kochii subsp. plenissima and subsp. borealis were hydrodistilled from the leaves and then analysed by gas chromato...

  • Article
  • Open Access
21 Citations
5,434 Views
17 Pages

Application of A Novel Potential Probiotic Lactobacillus paracasei Strain Isolated from Kefir Grains in the Production of Feta-Type Cheese

  • Ioanna Mantzourani,
  • Antonia Terpou,
  • Athanasios Alexopoulos,
  • Pelagia Chondrou,
  • Alex Galanis,
  • Argyro Bekatorou,
  • Eugenia Bezirtzoglou,
  • Athanasios A Koutinas and
  • Stavros Plessas

In the present study 38 lactic acid bacteria strains were isolated from kefir grains and were monitored regarding probiotic properties in a series of established in vitro tests, including resistance to low pH, resistance to pepsin and pancreatin, and...

  • Article
  • Open Access
22 Citations
4,939 Views
15 Pages

Low Concentration of Antibiotics Modulates Gut Microbiota at Different Levels in Pre-Weaning Dairy Calves

  • Mohammed Husien Yousif,
  • Jing-Hui Li,
  • Zheng-Qian Li,
  • Gibson Maswayi Alugongo,
  • Shou-Kun Ji,
  • Yuan-Xiao Li,
  • Ya-Jing Wang,
  • Sheng-Li Li and
  • Zhi-Jun Cao

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of feeding milk replacer (MR) with two different antibiotics treatments on the gut microbiota of pre-weaning calves. Twelve (12) Holstein male calves at 1-day-old were randomly assigned to: milk rep...

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Microorganisms - ISSN 2076-2607