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Applied Microbiology, Food and Environmental Sciences
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Applied Microbiology, Food and Environmental Sciences

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 19182

Special Issue Editors

Dr. David Ian Ellis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Natural Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
Interests: applied sciences; rapid methods; food security; spectroscopy; sensors
Dr. Howbeer Muhamadali

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK
Interests: metabolomics; biofilm; antimicrobial resistance; microbiology; spectroscopy; mass spectrometry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since their inception, the three main fields of interest in this collection, microbiology, food science, and environmental science, have all included a very strong practical and applied focus, in addition to the study of fundamental phenomena—and with the increasing interest in the study of systems, each of these three disciplines may also influence, as well as inform the knowledge of one or more of the other. Here, then, in addition to each of these three sciences individually, we are interested in those working at the interface, or indeed, those who perceive themselves to be working in the interstices of any of these three fields. The collection will have a particular emphasis on analytical methods and sensors. Primary research articles and critical or tutorial reviews are all welcome, with potential authors strongly encouraged to elucidate and emphasise the applied nature of their research or to expand on their own expert opinions of the future potential of their respective fields within reviews.

Dr. David Ian Ellis
Dr. Howbeer Muhamadali
Guest Editors

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. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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

  • Sensors
  • Rapid methods
  • Analytical methods
  • Biofilms
  • Microorganisms
  • Antimicrobial resistance
  • Food security
  • Agri-food
  • Toxins
  • Contamination
  • Waste
  • Circular Economy

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1135 KiB  
Article
Portable through Bottle SORS for the Authentication of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
by Mehrvash Varnasseri, Howbeer Muhamadali, Yun Xu, Paul I. C. Richardson, Nick Byrd, David I. Ellis, Pavel Matousek and Royston Goodacre
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(18), 8347; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11188347 - 9 Sep 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3146
Abstract
The authenticity of olive oil has been a significant long-term challenge. Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is the most desirable of these products and commands a high price, thus unscrupulous individuals often alter its quality by adulteration with a lower grade oil. Most [...] Read more.
The authenticity of olive oil has been a significant long-term challenge. Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is the most desirable of these products and commands a high price, thus unscrupulous individuals often alter its quality by adulteration with a lower grade oil. Most analytical methods employed for the detection of food adulteration require sample collection and transportation to a central laboratory for analysis. We explore the use of portable conventional Raman and spatially-offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) technologies as non-destructive approaches to assess the adulteration status of EVOO quantitatively and for SORS directly through the original container, which means that after analysis the bottle is intact and the oil would still be fit for use. Three sample sets were generated, each with a different adulterant and varying levels of chemical similarity to EVOO. These included EVOO mixed with sunflower oil, pomace olive oil, or refined olive oil. Authentic EVOO samples were stretched/diluted from 0% to 100% with these adulterants and measured using two handheld Raman spectrometers (excitation at 785 or 1064 nm) and handheld SORS (830 nm). The PCA scores plots displayed clear trends which could be related to the level of adulteration for all three mixtures. Conventional Raman (at 785 or 1064 nm) and SORS (at 830 nm with a single spatial offset) conducted in sample vial mode resulted in prediction errors for the test set data ranging from 1.9–4.2% for sunflower oil, 6.5–10.7% for pomace olive oil and 8.0–12.8% for refined olive oil; with the limit of detection (LOD) typically being 3–12% of the adulterant. Container analysis using SORS produced very similar results: 1.4% for sunflower, 4.9% for pomace, and 10.1% for refined olive oil, with similar LODs ranging from 2–14%. It can be concluded that Raman spectroscopy, including through-container analysis using SORS, has significant potential as a rapid and accurate analytical method for the non-destructive detection of adulteration of extra virgin olive oil. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Microbiology, Food and Environmental Sciences)
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20 pages, 15627 KiB  
Article
Supplementation of Ex-Situ Biofloc to Improve Growth Performance and Enhance Nutritional Values of the Pacific White Shrimp Rearing at Low Salinity Conditions
by Umaporn Uawisetwathana, Magdalena Lenny Situmorang, Sopacha Arayamethakorn, Haniswita, Gede Suantika, Atikorn Panya, Nitsara Karoonuthaisiri and Wanilada Rungrassamee
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(10), 4598; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11104598 - 18 May 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5137
Abstract
Shrimp is an important food source consumed worldwide. An intensive aquaculture system with overuse of feed in combination with detrimental effects from climate change are serious problems leading to mass mortality of cultured shrimp. Biofloc technology is an approach to managing water quality [...] Read more.
Shrimp is an important food source consumed worldwide. An intensive aquaculture system with overuse of feed in combination with detrimental effects from climate change are serious problems leading to mass mortality of cultured shrimp. Biofloc technology is an approach to managing water quality and controlling the disease to counter the negative side of intensive culture system; however, most of the biofloc applications are naturally formed, which could be inconsistent. In this study, we employed an established optimal ratio of microbial consortium called “ex-situ biofloc (BF)” to be used as a feed supplement in shrimp cultured in a zero-water discharged system at low salinity conditions. Three feeding groups (100%commercial pellet (C), 95%C+BF, 90%C+BF) of shrimp were cultured for six weeks. The effect of an ex-situ biofloc supplement with commercial pellet reduction showed that levels of ammonium, nitrite, nitrate and phosphate were significantly decreased in water culture. Shrimp fed with ex-situ biofloc supplement with commercial pellet reduction exhibited significantly increased shrimp weight and survival, and significantly expressed growth-related genes involving lipolysis and energy metabolism higher than those fed with 100% commercial pellet. Nutritional analysis indicated a significant increase of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosenoic acid (C20:1) concentrations in the ex-situ biofloc supplemented shrimp. This finding revealed the potential of ex-situ biofloc to manage water quality, improve shrimp growth performance and enhance shrimp nutritional value under intensive culture at low salinity conditions. The beneficial effects of the ex-situ biofloc in shrimp culture system make it a promising alternative strategy to mitigate climate change effects leading to the sustainable production of high-quality shrimp in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Microbiology, Food and Environmental Sciences)
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11 pages, 1964 KiB  
Article
Genus, Species, and Subspecies Classification of Salmonella Isolates by Proteomics
by Shu-Hua Chen, Christine H. Parker, Timothy R. Croley and Melinda A. McFarland
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(9), 4264; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11094264 - 8 May 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4118
Abstract
Identification of bacteria by mass spectrometry offers the potential of a high-throughput non-targeted method to determine the presence of Salmonella. While MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry can identify Salmonella at the genus and species level, few studies have reported subtyping beyond the species level [...] Read more.
Identification of bacteria by mass spectrometry offers the potential of a high-throughput non-targeted method to determine the presence of Salmonella. While MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry can identify Salmonella at the genus and species level, few studies have reported subtyping beyond the species level due to the diversity and complexity of Salmonella that includes more than 2600 serovars. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) approaches enable profiling of a greater number of proteins over a larger dynamic range and offer the potential to detect small differences between closely related isolates. We evaluate the discriminatory power of bottom-up LC-MS/MS with a collection of nineteen isolates that differ at the genus, species, subspecies, or strain level. Isolates were classified by matching the sequence of identified peptides to reference proteomes translated from genomes with known taxonomic ranks. The degree of proteomic similarity between the tested isolates and reference strains correlated with how closely they were related. All tested Salmonella isolates were easily distinguished from their close relatives, E. coli and Shigella, and readily grouped by species and subspecies. Additionally, each Salmonella isolate most closely matched to its correct serovar. This approach presents a simple and effective proteomic approach to identification of Salmonella genus, species, and subspecies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Microbiology, Food and Environmental Sciences)
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13 pages, 2240 KiB  
Article
Portable near Infrared Spectroscopy as a Tool for Fresh Tomato Quality Control Analysis in the Field
by Karla R. Borba, Didem P. Aykas, Maria I. Milani, Luiz A. Colnago, Marcos D. Ferreira and Luis E. Rodriguez-Saona
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 3209; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11073209 - 2 Apr 2021
Cited by 36 | Viewed by 5477
Abstract
Portable spectrometers are promising tools that can be an alternative way, for various purposes, of analyzing food quality, such as monitoring in a few seconds the internal quality during fruit ripening in the field. A portable/handheld (palm-sized) near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer (Neospectra, Si-ware) with [...] Read more.
Portable spectrometers are promising tools that can be an alternative way, for various purposes, of analyzing food quality, such as monitoring in a few seconds the internal quality during fruit ripening in the field. A portable/handheld (palm-sized) near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer (Neospectra, Si-ware) with spectral range of 1295–2611 nm, equipped with a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMs), was used to develop prediction models to evaluate tomato quality attributes non-destructively. Soluble solid content (SSC), fructose, glucose, titratable acidity (TA), ascorbic, and citric acid contents of different types of fresh tomatoes were analyzed with standard methods, and those values were correlated to spectral data by partial least squares regression (PLSR). Fresh tomato samples were obtained in 2018 and 2019 crops in commercial production, and four fruit types were evaluated: Roma, round, grape, and cherry tomatoes. The large variation in tomato types and having the fruits from distinct years resulted in a wide range in quality parameters enabling robust PLSR models. Results showed accurate prediction and good correlation (Rpred) for SSC = 0.87, glucose = 0.83, fructose = 0.87, ascorbic acid = 0.81, and citric acid = 0.86. Our results support the assertion that a handheld NIR spectrometer has a high potential to simultaneously determine several quality attributes of different types of tomatoes in a practical and fast way. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Microbiology, Food and Environmental Sciences)
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