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Antibiotics
Special Issues
Development of Novel Anti-microbials to Reduce Bacterial Contamination of Food
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Development of Novel Anti-microbials to Reduce Bacterial Contamination of Food

A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2021) | Viewed by 23562

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Birgit Pruess

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Microbiological Sciences at North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA
Interests: bacterial chemotaxis towards neurotransmitters; development of novel anti-microbials with a broad range of applicability in food processing and clinical settings

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The CDC keeps listing an impressive number of food borne disease outbreaks despite all current techniques to control bacterial contamination on food and food products. Such contamination can occur during the pre-harvest environment or in the processing facility post-harvest. Current treatments are only partially effective because of the development of bacterial resistance, the formation of bacterial biofilm, and inactivation of the treatment compound (e.g. chlorine) by the food products themselves.

This Special Issue will include basic research approaches that are aimed at enhancing our understanding of how contamination occurs during the food processing chain, as well as more immediate and applied approaches to the development and use of novel anti-microbials.

One example of a basic research approach may be the investigation of how the pre-harvest conditions can lead to contamination either directly or by reducing the effectiveness of post-harvest treatments. An example of a more immediate approach could be the screening of large libraries of chemical compounds. Applied research may outline how an already identified compound can be used during food processing. Overall, we are seeking a broad spectrum of novel approaches to reduce bacterial contamination on food at all stages of their development.

Prof. Dr. Birgit Pruess
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bacterial contamination
  • food and food products
  • novel anti-microbials
  • innovative techniques

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 6402 KiB  
Communication
The Food Anti-Microbials β-Phenylethylamine (-HCl) and Ethyl Acetoacetate Do Not Change during the Heating Process
by Shelley M. Horne, Angel Ugrinov and Birgit M. Prüβ
Antibiotics 2021, 10(4), 418; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics10040418 - 10 Apr 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2685
Abstract
β-Phenylethylamine hydrochloride (PEA-HCl) and ethyl acetoacetate (EAA) are anti-microbials with applications in food processing. As food anti-microbials, the compounds will have to withstand the cooking process without changing to toxic compounds. With this Communication, we address the question of whether PEA and EAA [...] Read more.
β-Phenylethylamine hydrochloride (PEA-HCl) and ethyl acetoacetate (EAA) are anti-microbials with applications in food processing. As food anti-microbials, the compounds will have to withstand the cooking process without changing to toxic compounds. With this Communication, we address the question of whether PEA and EAA are altered when heated to 73.9 °C or 93.3 °C. A combination of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry was used to analyze solutions of PEA(-HCl) or EAA in beef broth or water. In addition, the anti-microbial activity of PEA-HCl and EAA was compared between heated and unheated samples at a range of concentrations. The gas chromatograms of PEA(-HCl) and EAA showed one peak at early retention times that did not differ between the heated and unheated samples. The mass spectra for PEA and EAA were near identical to those from a spectral database and did not show any differences between the heated and unheated samples. We conclude that PEA(-HCl) and EAA formed pure solutions and were not altered during the heating process. In addition, the anti-microbial activity of PEA-HCl and EAA did not change after the heating of the compounds. Regardless of temperature, the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for PEA-HCl were 20.75 mmol mL−1 for Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium. For EAA, the MICs were 23.4 mmol mL−1 for E. coli and 15.6 mmol mL−1 for S. enterica. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Novel Anti-microbials to Reduce Bacterial Contamination of Food)
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16 pages, 2485 KiB  
Article
Antibiotic Resistance in Shiga Toxigenic Escherichia coli Isolates from Surface Waters and Sediments in a Mixed Use Urban Agricultural Landscape
by Yvonne Ma, Jessica Chen, Karen Fong, Stephanie Nadya, Kevin Allen, Chad Laing, Kim Ziebell, Ed Topp, Laura M. Carroll, Martin Wiedmann, Pascal Delaquis and Siyun Wang
Antibiotics 2021, 10(3), 237; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics10030237 - 26 Feb 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3244
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance (AR) phenotypes and acquired resistance determinants (ARDs) detected by in silico analysis of genome sequences were examined in 55 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) isolates representing diverse serotypes recovered from surfaces waters and sediments in a mixed use urban/agricultural landscape in [...] Read more.
Antibiotic resistance (AR) phenotypes and acquired resistance determinants (ARDs) detected by in silico analysis of genome sequences were examined in 55 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) isolates representing diverse serotypes recovered from surfaces waters and sediments in a mixed use urban/agricultural landscape in British Columbia, Canada. The isolates displayed decreased susceptibility to florfenicol (65.5%), chloramphenicol (7.3%), tetracycline (52.7%), ampicillin (49.1%), streptomycin (34.5%), kanamycin (20.0%), gentamycin (10.9%), amikacin (1.8%), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (21.8%), ceftiofur (18.2%), ceftriaxone (3.6%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (12.7%), and cefoxitin (3.6%). All surface water and sediment isolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid, ertapenem, imipenem and meropenem. Eight isolates (14.6%) were multidrug resistant. ARDs conferring resistance to phenicols (floR), trimethoprim (dfrA), sulfonamides (sul1/2), tetracyclines (tetA/B), and aminoglycosides (aadA and aph) were detected. Additionally, narrow-spectrum β-lactamase blaTEM-1b and extended-spectrum AmpC β-lactamase (cephalosporinase) blaCMY-2 were detected in the genomes, as were replicons from plasmid incompatibility groups IncFII, IncB/O/K/Z, IncQ1, IncX1, IncY and Col156. A comparison with surveillance data revealed that AR phenotypes and ARDs were comparable to those reported in generic E. coli from food animals. Aquatic environments in the region are potential reservoirs for the maintenance and transmission of antibiotic resistant STEC, associated ARDs and their plasmids. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Novel Anti-microbials to Reduce Bacterial Contamination of Food)
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15 pages, 2801 KiB  
Article
A New High-Throughput Screening Method to Detect Antimicrobial Volatiles from Metagenomic Clone Libraries
by Franz Stocker, Melanie M. Obermeier, Katharina Resch, Gabriele Berg and Christina A. Müller Bogotá
Antibiotics 2020, 9(11), 726; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9110726 - 22 Oct 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3149
Abstract
The ever-growing spread of resistance in medicine and agriculture highlights the need to identify new antimicrobials. Microbial volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are one of the most promising groups of chemicals to meet this need. These rarely exploited molecules exhibit antimicrobial activity and their [...] Read more.
The ever-growing spread of resistance in medicine and agriculture highlights the need to identify new antimicrobials. Microbial volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are one of the most promising groups of chemicals to meet this need. These rarely exploited molecules exhibit antimicrobial activity and their high vapour pressure makes them ideal for application in surface sterilisation, and in particular, in biofumigation. Therefore, we adapted the previously developed Two Clamp VOCs Assay (TCVA) to a new high-throughput screening for the detection of novel antifungal VOCs from metagenomic clone libraries. As a proof of concept, we tested the new high-throughput TCVA (htTCVA) by sourcing a moss metagenomic library against Fusarium culmorum. This led to the identification of five clones that inhibited the growth of mycelium and spores in vitro by up to 8% and 30% and subsequently, to the identification of VOCs that are potentially, and in part responsible for the clones’ antifungal activity. For these VOCs, the in vitro effect of the pure compounds was as high as 100%. These results demonstrate the robustness and feasibility of the htTCVA, which provides access to completely new and unexplored biosynthetic pathways and their secondary metabolites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Novel Anti-microbials to Reduce Bacterial Contamination of Food)
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12 pages, 1220 KiB  
Article
Antifungal Packaging Film to Maintain Quality and Control Postharvest Diseases in Strawberries
by Valentina Trinetta, Austin McDaniel, Konstantinos G. Batziakas, Umut Yucel, Londa Nwadike and Eleni Pliakoni
Antibiotics 2020, 9(9), 618; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9090618 - 18 Sep 2020
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 4262
Abstract
Strawberries are a highly perishable crop with postharvest losses than reach up to 40%. Cost-effective and sustainable technologies in the form of active packing films can provide a solution. Antimicrobial packaging films were produced from pullulan polymer and Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLN) containing [...] Read more.
Strawberries are a highly perishable crop with postharvest losses than reach up to 40%. Cost-effective and sustainable technologies in the form of active packing films can provide a solution. Antimicrobial packaging films were produced from pullulan polymer and Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLN) containing 1% w/w cinnamaldehyde. Strawberries were stored at 3 °C for 10 days and 12 °C for 6 days. Microbial and physical quality parameters were evaluated during storage. A reduction of approximately 2 Log CFU/g in yeast and mold population was observed for treated strawberries stored at 3 °C as compared to the control (p < 0.05). Yeast and molds counts were significantly lower on day 2 and 4 at 12 °C for treated samples. Strawberries packaged with the active films demonstrated lower respiration rates and the retention of bright red color at both storage temperatures. Active pullulan films were effective in maintaining the desired strawberry quality and reducing fungal decay during refrigerated storage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Novel Anti-microbials to Reduce Bacterial Contamination of Food)
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Review

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32 pages, 1148 KiB  
Review
Elicitation of Stress-Induced Phenolic Metabolites for Antimicrobial Applications against Foodborne Human Bacterial Pathogens
by Ashish Christopher, Dipayan Sarkar and Kalidas Shetty
Antibiotics 2021, 10(2), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics10020109 - 23 Jan 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3891
Abstract
Foodborne bacterial pathogens in consumed foods are major food safety concerns worldwide, leading to serious illness and even death. An exciting strategy is to use novel phenolic compounds against bacterial pathogens based on recruiting the inducible metabolic responses of plant endogenous protective defense [...] Read more.
Foodborne bacterial pathogens in consumed foods are major food safety concerns worldwide, leading to serious illness and even death. An exciting strategy is to use novel phenolic compounds against bacterial pathogens based on recruiting the inducible metabolic responses of plant endogenous protective defense against biotic and abiotic stresses. Such stress-inducible phenolic metabolites have high potential to reduce bacterial contamination, and particularly improve safety of plant foods. The stimulation of plant protective response by inducing biosynthesis of stress-inducible phenolics with antimicrobial properties is among the safe and effective strategies that can be targeted for plant food safety and human gut health benefits. Metabolically driven elicitation with physical, chemical, and microbial elicitors has shown significant improvement in the biosynthesis of phenolic metabolites with antimicrobial properties in food and medicinal plants. Using the above rationale, this review focuses on current advances and relevance of metabolically driven elicitation strategies to enhance antimicrobial phenolics in plant food models for bacterial-linked food safety applications. Additionally, the specific objective of this review is to explore the potential role of redox-linked pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) regulation for enhancing biosynthesis of stress-inducible antibacterial phenolics in elicited plants, which are relevant for wider food safety and human health benefits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Novel Anti-microbials to Reduce Bacterial Contamination of Food)
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Other

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6 pages, 474 KiB  
Commentary
Microbes in Our Food, an Ongoing Problem with New Solutions
by Birgit M. Prüβ
Antibiotics 2020, 9(9), 584; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9090584 - 8 Sep 2020
Viewed by 2624
Abstract
Despite an increasing number of techniques that are designed to mitigate microbial contamination of food and the resulting food borne disease outbreaks, the United States and many other countries across the world continue to experience impressive numbers of such outbreaks. Microbial contamination can [...] Read more.
Despite an increasing number of techniques that are designed to mitigate microbial contamination of food and the resulting food borne disease outbreaks, the United States and many other countries across the world continue to experience impressive numbers of such outbreaks. Microbial contamination can occur during activities that take place in the pre-harvest environment or in the processing facility post-harvest. Current treatments of food that are aimed at reducing bacterial numbers may be only partially effective because of the development of bacterial resistance, the formation of bacterial biofilms, and inactivation of the treatment compound by the food products themselves. This Special Issue will include basic research approaches that are aimed at enhancing our understanding of how contamination occurs throughout the food processing chain, as well as more immediate and applied approaches to the development and use of novel anti-microbials to combat microbes in food. Novel techniques that aim to evaluate the efficacy of novel anti-microbials are included. Overall, we present a broad spectrum of novel approaches to reduce microbial contamination on food at all stages of production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Novel Anti-microbials to Reduce Bacterial Contamination of Food)
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10 pages, 1133 KiB  
Case Report
Monitoring of Hydrogen Emission from Bacteria in Food, Animals and in the Blood of Humans Suffering from Lyme Disease by A Specific Hydrogen Sensor
by Bruno Kolb, Lorina Riesterer, Anna-Maria Widenhorn and Leona Bier
Antibiotics 2020, 9(7), 427; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9070427 - 21 Jul 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2692
Abstract
A novel straightforward analytical technique was developed to monitor the emission of hydrogen from anaerobic bacteria cultured in sealed headspace vials using a specific hydrogen sensor. The results were compared with headspace gas chromatography carried out in parallel. This technique was also applied [...] Read more.
A novel straightforward analytical technique was developed to monitor the emission of hydrogen from anaerobic bacteria cultured in sealed headspace vials using a specific hydrogen sensor. The results were compared with headspace gas chromatography carried out in parallel. This technique was also applied to investigate the efficacy of chemical antibiotics and of natural compounds with antimicrobial properties. Antibiotics added to the sample cultures are apparently effective if the emission of hydrogen is suppressed, or if not, are either ineffective or the related bacteria are even resistant. The sensor approach was applied to prove bacterial contamination in food, animals, medical specimens and in ticks infected by Borrelia bacteria and their transfer to humans, thus causing Lyme disease. It is a unique advantage that the progress of an antibiotic therapy can be examined until the emission of hydrogen is finished. The described technique cannot identify the related bacteria but enables bacterial contamination by hydrogen emitting anaerobes to be recognized. The samples are incubated with the proper culture broth in closed septum vials which remain closed during the whole process. The personnel in the lab never come into contact with pathogens and thus safety regulations are guaranteed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Novel Anti-microbials to Reduce Bacterial Contamination of Food)
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