The macro-epibiotic communities of sea turtles have been subject to growing interest in recent years, yet their micro-epibiotic counterparts are almost entirely unknown. Here, we provide the first evidence that diatoms are epibionts for all seven extant species of sea turtle. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy, we inspected superficial carapace or skin samples from a single representative of ea...

Following an abrupt transition at birth from the sterile uterus to an environment with abundant commensal and pathogenic microbes, neonatal mammals are protected by maternal Abs at mucosal surfaces. We show in mice that different Ab isotypes work in distinct ways to protect the neonatal mucosal surface. Secretory IgA acts to limit penetration of commensal intestinal bacteria through the neonata...

Expression of a capsular polysaccharide is considered a hallmark of most invasive species of bacteria, including Streptococcus pneumoniae, in which the capsule is among the principal virulence factors and is the basis for successful vaccines. Consequently, it was previously assumed that capsule production distinguishes S. pneumoniae from closely related commensals of the mitis group streptococc...

UNLABELLED Simple sequence repeat (SSR) tracts produce stochastic on-off switching, or phase variation, in the expression of a panoply of surface molecules in many bacterial commensals and pathogens. A change to the number of repeats in a tract may alter the phase of the translational reading frame, which toggles the on-off state of the switch. Here, we construct an in silico SSR locus with mut...

Introduction & Objectives More and more evidence is emerging that microbiota are involved in the development and severity of oral mucositis, an inflammation and ulceration of the mucosa after chemotherapy. It is known that the microbiome is changed during mucositis and that chemotherapy is often complicated with local and even systemic infections. But still little is known about the role of ora...

Bacterial spore formers are being used as probiotic supplements for human dietary supplements as well as in registered medicines and for use in animal feeds. Their heat stability and ability to survive the gastric barrier makes them attractive as food supplements and this use is now growing. While often considered soil organisms this conception is misplaced and Bacilli should be considered as g...

In this study, to know about the phylogeny of Escherichia coli isolated from broilers with collibacillosis in Tabriz, 70 E. coli isolates recovered from broilers with collibacillosis were characterized for phylogenetic group (A, B1, B2, D) by multiplex PCR. Of the all 70 samples, 35 (50%) isolates were classified as type A, 32 (45%) as type D, 2 (2.8%) as type B1 and 1 (2.8%) as type B2. This s...