Publications by authors named "Tom Grunert"

Ionic liquids (ILs) have gained considerable attention due to their versatile and designable properties. ILs show great potential as antibacterial agents, but understanding the mechanism of attack on bacterial cells is essential to ensure the optimal design of IL-based biocides. The final aim is to achieve maximum efficacy while minimising toxicity and preventing resistance development in target organisms.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to analyze the diversity of Staphylococcus aureus in cow mastitis milk samples across Rwanda, collecting 1080 samples from 279 dairy cows on 80 farms.
  • - Researchers identified 135 S. aureus isolates using advanced techniques like genotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility testing, revealing significant resistance to penicillin and tetracycline, along with diverse genetic profiles among the bacteria.
  • - Findings indicated the presence of specific clonal complexes (CCs) associated with mastitis, highlighting their potential impact on cattle health and the need for enhanced surveillance to monitor the connection between animal and human health.
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Aims: To examine the diversity of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from nasal swabs of ruminants in Rwanda.

Methods And Results: A total of 454 nasal swabs from 203 cows, 170 goats, and 81 sheep were examined for the presence of S. aureus, and 30 S.

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Bacteria use quorum sensing (QS) to coordinate group behavior in response to cell density, and some bacterial viruses (phages) also respond to QS. In Staphylococcus aureus, the agr-encoded QS system relies on accumulation of auto-inducing cyclic peptides (AIPs). Other staphylococci also produce AIPs of which many inhibit S.

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Phenotypic adaptation has been associated with persistent, therapy-resistant infections. Recently, we described within-host evolution towards a Sigma factor B (SigB)-deficient phenotype in a non-human host, a naturally infected dairy cow with chronic, persistent mastitis. However, to our knowledge, the prevalence of SigB deficiency among clinical isolates remains unknown.

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Porcine pleuropneumonia caused by Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae affects pig health status and the swine industry worldwide. Despite the extensive number of studies focused on A. pleuropneumoniae infection and vaccine development, a thorough analysis of the A.

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Within-host adaptation is a typical feature of chronic, persistent infections. Research projects addressing adaptive changes due to bacterial in-host evolution increase our understanding of the pathogen's strategies to survive and persist for a long time in various hosts such as human and bovine. In this study, we investigated the adaptive processes of during chronic, persistent bovine mastitis using a previously isolated isogenic strain pair from a dairy cow with chronic, subclinical mastitis, in which the last variant (host-adapted, Sigma factor SigB-deficient) quickly replaced the initial, dominant variant.

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Salicylic acid (SAL) has recently been shown to induce biofilm formation in Staphylococcus aureus and to affect the expression of virulence factors. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of SAL on the regulatory agr system and its impact on S. aureus biofilm formation.

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A major determinant of β-lactam resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the drug insensitive transpeptidase, PBP2a, encoded by mecA. Full expression of the resistance phenotype requires auxiliary factors. Two such factors, auxiliary factor A (auxA, SAUSA300_0980) and B (auxB, SAUSA300_1003), were identified in a screen against mutants with increased susceptibility to β-lactams in the MRSA strain, JE2.

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We previously reported that disruption of the gene reduced virulence of . In this study, we found virulence in both silkworms and mice was restored by introducing the gene but not the gene to both and genes-disrupted mutants, suggesting that , the gene downstream to the gene in a two-gene operon-, is responsible for this phenomenon. We further observed a decrease in various surface-associated proteins and changes in cell envelope glycostructures in the mutants.

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Peritoneal dialysis (PD) offers specific advantages over hemodialysis, enabling increased autonomy of patients with end-stage renal disease, but PD-related complications need to be detected in a timely manner. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy could provide rapid and essential insights into the patients' risk profiles via molecular fingerprinting of PD effluent, an abundant waste material that is rich in biological information. In this study, we measured FTIR spectroscopic profiles in PD effluent from patients taking part in a randomized controlled trial of alanyl-glutamine addition to the PD-fluid.

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The present study was conducted from July to August 2018 on milk samples taken at dairy farms in the Northern Province and Kigali District of Rwanda in order to identify Staphylococcus spp. associated with bovine intramammary infection. A total of 161 staphylococcal isolates originating from quarter milk samples of 112 crossbred dairy cattle were included in the study.

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Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of bovine mastitis, commonly leading to long-lasting, persistent and recurrent infections. Thereby, S. aureus constantly refines and permanently adapts to the bovine udder environment.

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Over the past decades, ionic liquids (ILs) have gained considerable attention from the scientific community because of their versatile and designable properties. As a result, there are numerous IL applications, not only in organic synthesis, catalysis, or extraction but also as active pharmaceutical ingredients or novel antimicrobials. While considerable effort has been put into developing quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models for IL toxicity prediction, little is known about their actual mode of action.

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Staphylococcus aureus causing persistent, recurrent bovine intramammary infections are still a major challenge to dairy farming. Generally, one or a few clonal lineages are predominant in dairy herds, indicating animal-to-animal transfers and the existence of distinct pathotypic traits. The aim of this study was to determine if long term persistence and spreading of S.

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Surface carbohydrate moieties are essential for bacterial communication, phage-bacteria and host-pathogen interaction. Most Staphylococcus aureus produce polyribitolphosphate type Wall teichoic acids (WTAs) substituted with α- and/or β-O-linked N-acetyl-glucosamine (α-/β-O-GlcNAc) residues. GlcNAc modifications have attracted particular interest, as they were shown to govern staphylococcal adhesion to host cells, to promote phage susceptibility conferring beta-lactam resistance and are an important target for antimicrobial agents and vaccines.

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Background: Actinobacillus (A.) pleuropneumoniae is the causative agent of porcine pleuropneumonia and causes significant losses in the pig industry worldwide. Early host immune response is crucial for further progression of the disease.

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Aspirin has provided clear benefits to human health. But salicylic acid (SAL) -the main aspirin biometabolite- exerts several effects on eukaryote and prokaryote cells. SAL can affect, for instance, the expression of virulence factors.

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Background: Uterine disorders are common postpartum diseases in dairy cows. In practice, uterine treatment is often based on systemic or locally applied antimicrobials with no previous identification of pathogens. Accurate on-farm diagnostics are not available, and routine testing is time-consuming and cost intensive.

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is one of the most important contagious mastitis pathogens in dairy cattle. Due to its zoonotic potential, control of is not only of great economic importance in the dairy industry but also a significant public health concern. The aim of this study was to decipher the potential of bovine udder associated as reservoir for contamination in dairy production and processing.

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Background: Meticillin-resistant staphylococci (MRS) are pathogens of increasing importance to human and animal health worldwide. Transmission of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) between animals and humans has been well documented. By contrast, information about transmission of other Staphylococcus spp.

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Staphylococcus aureus causes a variety of serious illnesses in humans and animals. Subtyping of S. aureus isolates plays a crucial role in epidemiological investigations.

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Pertussis is a highly contagious disease mainly caused by Bordetella pertussis. Despite the massive use of vaccines, since the 1950s the disease has become re-emergent in 2000 with a shift in incidence from infants to adolescents and adults. Clearly, the efficacy of current cellular or acellular vaccines, formulated from bacteria grown in stirred bioreactors is limited, presenting a challenge for future vaccine development.

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The foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, responsible for listeriosis a rare but severe infection disease, can survive in the food processing environment for month or even years. So-called persistent L. monocytogenes strains greatly increase the risk of (re)contamination of food products, and are therefore a great challenge for food safety.

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Bacterial pathogens are known for their wide range of strategies to specifically adapt to host environments and infection sites. An in-depth understanding of these adaptation mechanisms is crucial for the development of effective therapeutics and new prevention measures. In this study, we assessed the suitability of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for monitoring metabolic adaptations of the bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes to specific host genotypes and for exploring the potential of FTIR spectroscopy to gain novel insights into the host-pathogen interaction.

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