The application of probiotics and prebiotics to the manipulation of the microbial ecology of the human colon has recently seen many scientific advances. The sequencing of probiotic genomes is providing a wealth of new information on the biology of these microorganisms. In addition, we are learning more about the interactions of probiotics with human cells and with pathogenic bacteria. An altern...

background petroleum reservoirs have long been known as the hosts of extremophilic microorganisms. some of these microorganisms are known for their potential biotechnological applications, particularly production of extra and intracellular polymers and enzymes. objectives here, 14 petroleum liquid samples from southern iranian oil reservoirs were screened for presence of biosurfactant‐producing...

In the course of evolutionary changes pathogens have developed many invasion strategies, to which the host organisms responded with a broad range of defense reactions involving endogenous signaling molecules, such as nitric oxide (NO). There is evidence that pathogenic microorganisms, including two most important groups of eukaryotic plant pathogens, also acquired the ability to synthesize NO v...

A description is given of a slide cell whereby the rate of migration of very small amounts of leucocytes can be followed and measured. The migration of polymorphonuclear leucocytes was found to be inhibited by virulent tubercle bacilli pathogenic for the class of animal (mammal or bird) from which the leucocytes were obtained; it was not affected by the avirulent variants of these microorganism...

The detection and inactivation of pathogenic strains of bacteria continues to be an important therapeutic goal. Hence, there is a need for materials that can bind selectively to specific microorganisms for diagnostic or anti-infective applications, but that can be formed from simple and inexpensive building blocks. Here, we exploit bacterial redox systems to induce a copper-mediated radical pol...

Microorganisms are of great importance to aquaculture where they occur naturally, and can be added artificially, fulfilling different roles. They recycle nutrients, degrade organic matter and, occasionally, they infect and kill the fish, their larvae or the live feed. Also, some microorganisms may protect fish and larvae against disease. Hence, monitoring and manipulating the microbial communit...

The aim of the study was to determine the influence of temperature, i.e. 4 and 20 degrees C on the Escherichia coli O157:H7 survival time in a stored cattle slurry in a laboratory model experiment. The results of this investigation indicated that the tested microorganisms underwent a gradual elimination in the cattle slurry, whereas their inactivation rate was clearly dependent on the temperatu...

Fungal interactions with plants can involve specific morphogenetic developments to access host cells, the suppression of plant defenses, and the establishment of a feeding lifestyle that nourishes the colonizer often-but not always-at the expense of the host. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism is central to the infection process, and the stage-specific production and/or neutralization of ...

As the consumer attitudes shift to healthier, low caloric value as well as to convenience products, the demand for whole and fresh-cut produce has proportionally increased over the last decade [19, 53, 55]. Together with the grown market, an increased number of outbreaks associated with fresh-cut produce brought the necessity to deal with microbial decontamination methods of the fresh-cut lettu...

Many animal-pathogenic bacteria can use heme compounds as iron sources. Like these microorganisms, rhizobium strains interact with host organisms where heme compounds are available. Results presented in this paper indicate that the use of hemoglobin as an iron source is not restricted to animal-pathogenic microorganisms. We also demonstrate that heme, hemoglobin, and leghemoglobin can act as ir...