Publications by authors named "Sharon Ann Huws"

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious threat to public health globally; it is estimated that AMR bacteria caused 1.27 million deaths in 2019, and this is set to rise to 10 million deaths annually. Agricultural and soil environments act as antimicrobial resistance gene (ARG) reservoirs, operating as a link between different ecosystems and enabling the mixing and dissemination of resistance genes.

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Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) can efficiently control different microbial pathogens and show the potential to be applied in clinical practice and livestock production. In this work, the aim was to isolate AMP-producing ruminal streptococci and to characterize their genetic features through whole-genome sequencing. We cultured 463 bacterial isolates from the rumen of Nelore bulls, 81 of which were phenotypically classified as being .

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Studies of rumen microbial ecology suggest that the capacity to produce antimicrobial peptides could be a useful trait in species competing for ecological niches in the ruminal ecosystem. However, little is known about the synthesis of lasso peptides by ruminal microorganisms. Here we analyzed the distribution and diversity of lasso peptide gene clusters in 425 bacterial genomes from the rumen ecosystem.

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Infections caused by multidrug resistant bacteria represent a therapeutic challenge both in clinical settings and in livestock production, but the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes among the species of bacteria that colonize the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants is not well characterized. Here, we investigate the resistome of 435 ruminal microbial genomes in silico and confirm representative phenotypes in vitro. We find a high abundance of genes encoding tetracycline resistance and evidence that the tet(W) gene is under positive selective pressure.

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Two highly active short broad-spectrum AMPs (14D and 69D) with unknown mode of action have been investigated in regards to their effect against the Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia and the Gram-positive bacteria methicillin-resistant (MRSA). Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) measurements using a cell density of 10 cfu/ml resulted in values between 16 and 32 µg/ml. Time-kill experiments using 10 cfu/ml revealed complete killing, except for 69D in combination with MRSA, where bacterial load was reduced a million times.

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The rumen primary and secondary metabolite content is intimately related to its community of bacteria, protozoa, fungi, archaea and bacteriophages, ingested feed and the host. Despite the myriad of interactions and novel compounds to be discovered, few studies have explored the rumen metabolome. Here, we present the first study using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry and Molecular Networking approach, and various extraction methods on the cell-free rumen fluid of a non-lactating Holstein cow.

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Developing novel strategies for improving the fatty acid composition of ruminant products relies upon increasing our understanding of rumen bacterial lipid metabolism. This study investigated whether flax or echium oil supplementation of steer diets could alter the rumen fatty acids and change the microbiome. Six Hereford × Friesian steers were offered grass silage/sugar beet pulp only (GS), or GS supplemented either with flax oil (GSF) or echium oil (GSE) at 3% kg(-1) silage dry matter in a 3 × 3 replicated Latin square design with 21-day periods with rumen samples taken on day 21 for the analyses of the fatty acids and microbiome.

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Sorghum presents a sustainable feedstock for Mediterranean buffaloes due to its reduced water and nitrogen requirements compared with maize, which is currently fed primarily. We investigated the effects of feeding sorghum as opposed to maize on Mediterranean buffalo rumen microbial diversity and milk fatty acid content. Four cannulated lactating Mediterranean buffalo cows were fed a basal diet for one month before switching either to maize or sorghum-silage based diets for a 3-month period.

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