Effects of feeding plant-derived agents on the colonization of Campylobacter jejuni in broiler chickens.

The aim of this work was to test the potential use of plant-derived extracts and compounds to control Campylobacter jejuni in broiler chickens. Over a 7-wk feeding period, birds were fed a commercial diet with or without plant extracts (Acacia decurrens, Eremophila glabra), essential oil [lemon myrtle oil (LMO)], plant secondary compounds [terpinene-4-ol and α-tops (including α-terpineol, cineole, and terpinene-4-ol)], and the antibiotic virginiamycin. Traditional culture and real-time quantitative PCR techniques were used to enumerate the numbers of C.

Antimicrobial activity of essential oils and five terpenoid compounds against Campylobacter jejuni in pure and mixed culture experiments.

The aim of this study was to examine the antimicrobial potential of three essential oils (EOs: tea tree oil, lemon myrtle oil and Leptospermum oil), five terpenoid compounds (α-bisabolol, α-terpinene, cineole, nerolidol and terpinen-4-ol) and polyphenol against two strains of Campylobacter jejuni (ACM 3393 and the poultry isolate C338), Campylobacter coli and other Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria. Different formulations of neem oil (Azadirachta indica) with these compounds were also tested for synergistic interaction against all organisms. Antimicrobial activity was determined by the use of disc diffusion and broth dilution assays.

Development of anti-infectives using phage display: biological agents against bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

The vast majority of anti-infective therapeutics on the market or in development are small molecules; however, there is now a nascent pipeline of biological agents in development. Until recently, phage display technologies were used mainly to produce monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) targeted against cancer or inflammatory disease targets. Patent disputes impeded broad use of these methods and contributed to the dearth of candidates in the clinic during the 1990s.

Screening of Australian plants for antimicrobial activity against Campylobacter jejuni.

Campylobacter jejuni is the most common cause of acute enteritis in humans, with symptoms such as diarrhoea, fever and abdominal cramps. In this study, 115 extracts from 109 Australian plant species were investigated for their antimicrobial activities against two C. jejuni strains using an in vitro broth microdilution assay.

Localization of a guanylyl cyclase to chemosensory cilia requires the novel ciliary MYND domain protein DAF-25.

In harsh conditions, Caenorhabditis elegans arrests development to enter a non-aging, resistant diapause state called the dauer larva. Olfactory sensation modulates the TGF-β and insulin signaling pathways to control this developmental decision. Four mutant alleles of daf-25 (abnormal DAuer Formation) were isolated from screens for mutants exhibiting constitutive dauer formation and found to be defective in olfaction.

Phage-displayed peptides selected for binding to Campylobacter jejuni are antimicrobial.

In developed countries, Campylobacter jejuni is a leading cause of zoonotic bacterial gastroenteritis in humans with chicken meat implicated as a source of infection. Campylobacter jejuni colonises the lower gastrointestinal tract of poultry and during processing is spread from the gastrointestinal tract onto the surface of dressed carcasses. Controlling or eliminating C.

The application of phage-displayed peptide libraries to ligand detection in eggs and larvae of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus.

The cattle tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus is an ectoparasite of cattle and is one of the major limiting factors in the use of Bos taurus cattle in tropical and subtropical countries. Current control relies heavily on chemotherapy with synthetic acaricides, which is threatened by the development of resistant tick populations. Novel approaches to target discovery in cattle ticks may provide alternative strategies for the control of these parasites.

Peptides selected for binding to a virulent strain of Haemophilus influenzae by phage display are bactericidal.

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is an obligate parasite of the oropharynx of humans, in whom it commonly causes mucosal infections such as otitis media, sinusitis, and bronchitis. We used a subtractive phage display approach to affinity select for peptides binding to the cell surface of a novel invasive NTHi strain R2866 (also called Int1). Over half of the selected phage peptides tested were bactericidal toward R2866 in a dose-dependent manner.

Phage-displayed peptides as developmental agonists for Phytophthora capsici zoospores.

As part of its pathogenic life cycle, Phytophthora capsici disperses to plants through a motile zoospore stage. Molecules on the zoospore surface are involved in reception of environmental signals that direct preinfection behavior. We developed a phage display protocol to identify peptides that bind to the surface molecules of P.