Unveiling ochratoxin A and ochratoxigenic fungi in Brazilian artisanal Cheeses: Insights from production to consumption.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a toxin produced by several Aspergillus species, mainly those belonging to section Circumdati and section Nigri. The presence of OTA in cheese has been reported recently in cave cheese in Italy. As artisanal cheese production in Brazil has increased, the aim of this study was to investigate the presence of ochratoxin A and related fungi in artisanal cheese consumed in Brazil.

Spatial distribution of sediment bacterial communities from São Francisco River headwaters is influenced by human land-use activities and seasonal climate shifts.

Riverbed sediments are dynamic freshwater environments colonized by a great diversity of microorganisms which play important roles in supporting freshwater ecosystem by performing a vast array of metabolic functions. Recent evidence generated by HTS approaches has revealed that the structure of sediment microbial communities is influenced by natural seasonal variations in water such as temperature or streamflow as well by disturbances caused by local human activities. Here, a spatiotemporal analysis of sediment microbial distribution from São Francisco River headwaters section was conducted using Illumina 16S rRNA-V4 region amplicon sequencing in order to accomplish three major goals: (i) to investigate whether the diversity and composition of bacterial communities accessed in riverbed sediments vary in response to distinct land-use activities; (ii) to estimate whether the diversity patterns vary between the dry and wet seasons; and (iii) to evaluate whether the diversity of bacterial metabolic functions, predicted by PICRUSt2 approach, varies similarly to the estimated taxonomic diversity.

High Level of Interaction between Phages and Bacteria in an Artisanal Raw Milk Cheese Microbial Community.

Microbial starter cultures are used in the production of many cheeses around the world, such as Parmigiano-Reggiano, in Italy, Époisses, in France, and Canastra, in Brazil, providing many of the unique features of these cheeses. Bacteriophages (phages) are ubiquitous and well known to modulate the structure of bacterial communities, and recent data indicate that cheeses contain a high abundance of naturally occurring phages. Here, we analyze the viral and bacterial metagenomes of Canastra cheese: a traditional artisanal Brazilian cheese produced using an endogenous starter culture and raw milk.

Changes in bovine milk bacterial microbiome from healthy and subclinical mastitis affected animals of the Girolando, Gyr, Guzera, and Holstein breeds.

Raw milk samples were collected from 200 dairy cows belonging to Girolando 1/2, Gyr, Guzera, and Holstein breeds, and the bacterial diversity was explored using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. SCC analysis showed that 69 animals were classified as affected with subclinical mastitis. The milk bacterial microbiome was dominated by Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria, with an increase of Firmicutes in animals with subclinical mastitis and Proteobacteria in healthy animals.

Investigating the influence of Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) on microbial diversity of Canastra cheeses and their processing environments.

Canastra Cheese is one of the most commercialized artisanal cheeses in Brazil and intrinsic characteristics of its production, such as the use of raw milk and natural whey starter cultures as well short ripening time on wooden shelves, offer risk of contamination by a plethora of microorganisms. Here, we used 16 S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing approach to characterize the bacterial communities from Canastra cheese processing environments and final products, accessing cheesemaking facilities with distinct profiles of Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS), in order to estimate whether differences in microbial composition and diversity could also be observed between the two sampled groups of facilities. Our results revealed that the diversity of bacterial communities in the processing environments was much higher than that observed for cheeses, with greater discrepancy for facilities with inadequate FSMS.

Genomic and functional characterization of bacteriocinogenic lactic acid bacteria isolated from Boza, a traditional cereal-based beverage.

Boza is a traditional low-alcohol fermented beverage from the Balkan Peninsula, frequently explored as a functional food product. The product is rich in Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) and some of them can produce bacteriocins. In this study, a sample of Boza from Belogratchik, Bulgaria, was analyzed for the presence of bacteriocinogenic LAB, and after analyses by RAPD-PCR, three representative isolates were characterized by genomic analyses, using whole genome sequencing.

Can moderate heavy metal soil contaminations due to cement production influence the surrounding soil bacterial communities?

Events of soil contamination by heavy metals are mostly related to human activities that release these metals into the environment as emissions or effluents. Among the industrial activities related to heavy metal pollution, cement production plants are considered one of the most common sources. In this work we applied the High-throughput sequencing approach called 16 S rDNA metabarcoding to perform the taxonomic characterization of the prokaryotic communities of the soil surrounding three cement plants as well as two areas outside the influence of the cement plants that represented agricultural production environments free of heavy metal contamination (control areas).

Effects of Gender, Sterilization, and Environment on the Spatial Distribution of Free-Roaming Dogs: An Intervention Study in an Urban Setting.

Information concerning the factors affecting the circulation and distribution of free-roaming dogs is crucial in developing control actions and limiting the spread of zoonoses. The present study analyzes the influence of gender, sterilization, and environment on the spatial distribution of free-roaming dogs in urban settings. Animals were captured/recaptured in seven consecutive morning sampling efforts conducted at 2-monthly intervals in control and intervention areas in a medium-size town in southeastern Brazil.

Development of microsatellite markers for the threatened species Coleocephalocereus purpureus (Cactaceae) using next-generation sequencing.

Ten microsatellite loci were developed and validated for the endangered cactus species Coleocephalocereus purpureus. The markers were obtained from sequences generated by whole genome shotgun sequencing approaches. A testing group of 36 specimens of the main population were genotyped and all described markers presented suitable outcomes to population genetic studies, showing polymorphic status for C.

Dynamics of microbial contaminants is driven by selection during ethanol production.

Brazil is the second largest ethanol producer in the world and largest using sugarcane feedstock. Bacteria contamination is one of the most important issues faced by ethanol producers that seek to increase production efficiency. Each step of production is a selection event due to the environmental and biological changes that occur.

Avian haemosporidians in the cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) from central-western and southern Africa: High diversity and prevalence.

We described the geographic distribution of 82 haemosporidian lineages (Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, and Leucocytozoon) in the cattle egret sampled in five countries in central-western and southern Africa. Seventy-three lineages have not previously been reported. We determined the prevalence of three haemosporidians in the samples.

Effects of habitat suitability for vectors, environmental factors and host characteristics on the spatial distribution of the diversity and prevalence of haemosporidians in waterbirds from three Brazilian wetlands.

Background: Wetlands are ecosystems in which vectors of avian haemosporidians live and reproduce and where waterbirds join to breed in colonies. Brazil has wetlands at different latitudes, which enables testing the influence of the ecological factors on the prevalence and diversity of haemosporidians. We identified avian haemosporidians in waterbird species in three wetlands and investigated the effects of vector habitat suitability, landscape and host characteristics on the diversity and prevalence of these parasites.

Trade-offs and resource breadth processes as drivers of performance and specificity in a host-parasite system: a new integrative hypothesis.

One of the unresolved issues in the ecology of parasites is the relationship between host specificity and performance. Previous studies tested this relationship in different systems and obtained all possible outcomes. This led to the proposal of two hypotheses to explain conflicting results: the trade-off and resource breadth hypotheses, which are treated as mutually exclusive in the literature and were corroborated by different studies.

Does haemosporidian infection affect hematological and biochemical profiles of the endangered Black-fronted piping-guan (Aburria jacutinga)?

Infectious diseases can cause deleterious effects on bird species, leading to population decline and extinction. Haemosporidia can be recognized by their negative effects on host fitness, including reproductive success and immune responses. In captivity, outbreaks of haemosporidian infection have been observed in birds in zoos and aviaries.

Exploring the diversity and distribution of neotropical avian malaria parasites--a molecular survey from Southeast Brazil.

Southeast Brazil is a neotropical region composed of a mosaic of different tropical habitats and mountain chains, which allowed for the formation of bird-rich communities with distinct ecological niches. Although this region has the potential to harbor a remarkable variety of avian parasites, there is a lack of information about the diversity of malarial parasites. We used molecular approaches to characterize the lineage diversity of Plasmodium and Haemoproteus in bird communities from three different habitats in southeast Brazil based on the prevalence, richness and composition of lineages.

Parasitological and new molecular-phylogenetic characterization of the malaria parasite Plasmodium tejerai in South American penguins.

This study is the first report on mortality of Spheniscus magellanicus, penguin of South America, caused by Plasmodium tejerai, which was identified using morphological and molecular analyses. Blood stages (trophozoites, meronts and gametocytes) were reported and illustrated. The necropsy revealed marked splenomegaly and pulmonary edema, as well as moderate hepatomegaly and hydropericardium.

Cryptic speciation in Brazilian Epiperipatus (Onychophora: Peripatidae) reveals an underestimated diversity among the peripatid velvet worms.

Background: Taxonomical studies of the neotropical Peripatidae (Onychophora, velvet worms) have proven difficult, due to intraspecific variation and uniformity of morphological characters across this onychophoran subgroup. We therefore used molecular approaches, in addition to morphological methods, to explore the diversity of Epiperipatus from the Minas Gerais State of Brazil.

Methodology/principal Findings: Our analyses revealed three new species.