Search Results for: microbiolog

Author: Fisher, M.C.; Henk, D.A.; Briggs, C.J.; Brownstein, J.S.; Madoff, L.C.; McCraw, S.L.; Gurr, S.J. Description: The past two decades have seen an increasing number of virulent infectious diseases in natural populations and managed landscapes. In both animals and plants, an unprecedented number of fungal and fungal-like diseases have recently caused some of the most severe die-offs and extinctions ever witnessed in wild species, and are jeopardizing food security. Human activity is intensifying fungal disease dispersal by modifying natural environments and thus creating new opportunities for evolution. We argue that…

Author: Campbell, C.R.; Voyles, J.; Cook, D.I.; Dinudom, A. Description: One unique physiological characteristic of frogs is that their main route for intake of water is across the skin. In these animals, the skin acts in concert with the kidney and urinary bladder to maintain electrolyte homeostasis. Water absorption across the skin is driven by the osmotic gradient that develops as a consequence of solute transport. Our recent study demonstrated that chytridiomycosis, an infection of amphibian skin by the fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, inhibits epithelial Na(+) channels, attenuating Na(+) absorption…

Author: Sarmah, A.K.; Meyer, M.T.; Boxall, A.B.A. Description: Veterinary antibiotics (VAs) are widely used in many countries worldwide to treat disease and protect the health of animals. They are also incorporated into animal feed to improve growth rate and feed efficiency. As antibiotics are poorly adsorbed in the gut of the animals, the majority is excreted unchanged in faeces and urine. Given that land application of animal waste as a supplement to fertilizer is often a common practice in many countries, there is a growing international concern about the potential…

Author: Freedberg, D.E.; Salmasian, H.; Cohen, B.; Abrams, J.A.; Larson, E.L. Description: Objective: To assess whether receipt of antibiotics by prior hospital bed occupants is associated with increased risk for CDI in subsequent patients who occupy the same bed. Design, Setting, and Participants: This is a retrospective cohort study of adult patients hospitalized in any 1 of 4 facilities between 2010 and 2015. Patients were excluded if they had recent CDI, developed CDI within 48 hours of admission, had inadequate follow-up time, or if their prior bed occupant was in…

Author: Walker, R.W.; Clemente, J.C.; Peter, I.; Loos, R.J.F. Description: The colonization of the gut with microbes in early life is critical to the developing newborn immune system, metabolic function and potentially future health. Maternal microbes are transmitted to offspring during childbirth, representing a key step in the colonization of the infant gut. Studies of infant meconium suggest that bacteria are present in the foetal gut prior to birth, meaning that colonization could occur prenatally. Animal studies have shown that prenatal transmission of microbes to the foetus is possible, and…

Author: Solt, I. Description: The emergence of the concept of the microbiome, together with the development of molecular-based techniques, particularly polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification using the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene, has dramatically increased the detection of microorganisms, the number of known species, and the understanding of bacterial communities that are relevant to maternal-fetal medicine in health and disease. Culture-independent methods enable characterization of the microbiomes of the reproductive tract of pregnant and nonpregnant women, and have increased our understanding of the role of the uterine microbiome in adverse…

Author: Chen, X.; D’Souza, R.; Hong, S.-T. Description: Brain and the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are intimately connected to form a bidirectional neurohumoral communication system. The communication between gut and brain, knows as the gut-brain axis, is so well established that the functional status of gut is always related to the condition of brain. The researches on the gut-brain axis were traditionally focused on the psychological status affecting the function of the GI tract. However, recent evidences showed that gut microbiota communicates with the brain via the gut-brain axis to modulate…

Author: Ruokolainen, L.; von Hertzen, L.; Fyhrquist, N.; Laatikainen, T.; Lehtomaki, J.; Auvinen, P.; Karvonen, A.M.; Hyvarinen, A.; Tillmann, V.; Niemela, O.; Knip, M.; Haahtela, T.; Pekkanen, J.; Hanski, I. Description: BACKGROUND: Western lifestyle is associated with high prevalence of allergy, asthma and other chronic inflammatory disorders. To explain this association, we tested the ‘biodiversity hypothesis’, which posits that reduced contact of children with environmental biodiversity, including environmental microbiota in natural habitats, has adverse consequences on the assembly of human commensal microbiota and its contribution to immune tolerance. METHODS: We…

Author: Stine, O.C.; Johnson, J.A.; Keefer-Norris, A.; Perry, K.L.; Tigno, J.; Qaiyumi, S.; Stine, M.S.; Morris, J.G.J. Description: We sought to determine the distribution of resistance and the tetracycline resistance genes among bacteria isolated from a swine confined animal feeding facility where tetracycline-containing feed had been in use for over 20 years. Samples collected from feed, hogs, hog houses, waste lagoon, soil, surface water and well water were screened for the presence of (a) resistant Escherichia coli and enterococci and (b) tetracycline-resistant strains of all species. Genomic DNA was extracted…