Optical fiber-based synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy for bacterial discrimination directly from colonies on agar plates.

The development of experimental conditions for rapid bacterial discrimination using fluorescence spectroscopy fingerprinting is presented. Colonies of Pseudomonas and related reference strains on agar plates were analyzed directly using an optic fiber coupled to a laboratory spectrofluorimeter. Spectra were collected using either classic fluorescence spectroscopy after excitation at 250 nm and 340 nm for aromatic amino acids and nucleic acids (AAA + NA) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) respectively, or synchronous scanning in the excitation wavelength range 250-500 nm.

pAMT11, a novel plasmid isolated from a Thermococcus sp. strain closely related to the virus-like integrated element TKV1 of the Thermococcus kodakaraensis genome.

A novel extrachromosomal element that we called pAMT11 was discovered in a deep-sea vent isolate belonging to the hyperthermophilic euryarchaeal order Thermococcales. It consists of a double-stranded DNA of 20,534bp which encodes 30 putative open reading frames (ORFs) of which six could be assigned to a putative function on the basis of sequence similarity to known genes or to protein domain families. Most of the ORFs of pAMT1 showed homology and synteny with a genomic island of Thermococcus kodakaraensis KOD1.

Variation in content and composition of phenolic compounds in permanent pastures according to botanical variation.

Phenolic compounds contribute to the micronutrient composition of pasture, which in turn may affect animal product composition. To assess the importance and variations in content of these compounds, the polyphenolic and botanical compositions of 24 permanent pastures located in one lowland and two upland regions were studied at equivalent stages of growth. Phenolic fractions were characterized and quantified using HPLC-PDA-ESI-QToF, and the total content was determined by colorimetry over each whole pasture.

Plant polyphenols associated with vitamin E can reduce plasma lipoperoxidation in dairy cows given n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Diets rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) improve the nutritional value of ruminant products but also increase the risk of lipoperoxidation in plasma and tissues. The relative effectiveness of dietary antioxidants such as vitamin E (vit E) given alone or with plant extracts rich in polyphenols (PERP) containing rosemary, grape, citrus, and marigold was investigated in the plasma of mid-lactation dairy cows given diets enriched in 18:3 n-3. For a 30-d period, the animals were given a maize silage-based diet (control group C, n = 6) or the same basal diet supplemented with extruded linseed rich in 18:3 n-3 [50 g of oil/kg of diet dry matter (DM); group L, n = 6], extruded linseed + vit E (375 international units/kg of diet DM; 7,500 IU/cow per day; group LE, n = 6), or extruded linseed + vit E + PERP (10 g/kg of diet DM; group LEP, n = 5).

Comparison of cloned and non-cloned Holstein heifers in muscle contractile and metabolic characteristics.

Muscle contractile and metabolic characteristics were studied on nine cloned and eight non-cloned (control) heifers. The animals were submitted to repeated biopsies of the semitendinosus (ST) muscle at the ages of 8, 12, 18 and 24 months. The contractile type was determined from the proportion of the different myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoforms separated by electrophoresis.

Antioxidant supplementation restores defective leucine stimulation of protein synthesis in skeletal muscle from old rats.

Aging is characterized by a progressive loss of muscle mass that could be partly explained by a defect in the anabolic effect of food intake. We previously reported that this defect resulted from a decrease in the protein synthesis response to leucine in muscles from old rats. Because aging is associated with changes in oxidative status, we hypothesized that reactive oxygen species-induced oxidative damage may be involved in the impairment of the anabolic effect of leucine with age.

Comparative analysis of extracellular and intracellular proteomes of Listeria monocytogenes strains reveals a correlation between protein expression and serovar.

Listeria monocytogenes, the etiologic agent of listeriosis, remains a serious public health concern, with its frequent occurrence in food environments coupled with a high mortality rate. Among the 13 serovars, human listeriosis is mostly associated with the serovar 4b, 1/2b, and 1/2a strains. To investigate the diversity of L.

HLA-B27 rats develop osteopaenia through increased bone resorption without any change in bone formation.

Osteopaenia is a common complication of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). However, the mechanisms of bone loss are still the subject of debate. The aims of this study were to investigate bone loss in HLA-B27 transgenic rats, a spontaneous model of colitis and to compare the results provided by the usual markers of bone remodelling and by direct measurement of bone protein synthesis.

Phospho-proteomic approach to identify new targets of leucine deprivation in muscle cells.

The aim of this study was to optimize a protocol that allows identifying changes at the phosphorylation level of specific proteins in response to cell stimulation by leucine starvation. To make possible the identification of differentially phosphorylated proteins by the combination of two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), we prepared fraction enriched in phosphoproteins. For that purpose, we adapted the immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) technique to make it compatible with 2D-PAGE.

Lipid metabolism and antioxidant status in sucrose vs. potato-fed rats.

Objective: Consumption of high levels of simple carbohydrates is associated with several metabolic disorders in humans and in laboratory animals, including symptoms of an early stage of metabolic syndrome (syndrome X). This disorder has several cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertriglyceridemia, and is associated with an increase in oxidative stress. In contrast to sucrose, potato, a source of complex carbohydrates and antioxidant micronutrients, was thought to improve lipid metabolism and antioxidant protection.

Traditional dry fermented sausages produced in small-scale processing units in Mediterranean countries and Slovakia. 1: Microbial ecosystems of processing environments.

Microbial ecosystems were surveyed in 314 environmental samples from 54 Southern and Eastern European small-scale processing units (PUs) manufacturing traditional dry fermented sausages. The residual microflora contaminating the surfaces and the equipment were analysed after cleaning and disinfection procedures. All the PU environments were colonised at various levels by spoilage and technological microflora with excessive contamination levels in some of the PUs.

Comparison of lycopene and tomato effects on biomarkers of oxidative stress in vitamin E deficient rats.

Background: Cohort studies suggested that individuals with higher intake of tomatoes and tomato products have a lower risk of degenerative diseases. Lycopene, an antioxidant and antiproliferative carotenoid, has been hypothesized to be responsible for the health benefits of tomatoes. However, studies demonstrated a higher potential of tomatoes compared to lycopene to reduce oxidative stress or carcinogenesis.

Serum from rats fed red or yellow tomatoes induces Connexin43 expression independently from lycopene in a prostate cancer cell line.

Epidemiologic studies suggested a protective effect of tomatoes against prostate cancer brought by lycopene, a carotenoid conferring the red colour of tomatoes. However, intervention studies on patients have shown that the preventive effect of tomato was more potent than that of lycopene. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of red tomato, yellow tomato (devoid of lycopene) and lycopene on Connexin43 (Cx43) expression, a protein regulating cell growth, on a prostate cancer cell line expressing the androgen receptor.

Genomic diversity in Staphylococcus xylosus.

Staphylococcus xylosus is a commensal of the skin of humans and animals and a ubiquitous bacterium naturally present in food. It is one of the major starter cultures used for meat fermentation, but a few strains could potentially be hazardous and are related to animal opportunistic infections. To better understand the genetic diversity of S.

Microbial ecosystems of traditional fermented meat products: The importance of indigenous starters.

This paper reviews the diversity of microbiota, both in the environment and in traditional fermented European sausages. The environments of processing units were colonised at variable levels by resident spoilage and technological microbiota, with sporadic contamination by pathogenic microbiota. Several critical points were identified such as the machines, the tables and the knives - knowledge crucial for the improvement of cleaning and disinfecting practices.

Proteomic analysis of cell envelope from Staphylococcus xylosus C2a, a coagulase-negative staphylococcus.

Staphylococcus xylosus is a saprophytic bacterium commonly found on skin of mammals but also used for its organoleptic properties in manufacturing of fermented meat products. This bacterium is able to form biofilms and to colonize biotic or abiotic surfaces, processes which are mediated, to a certain extent, by cell-envelope proteins. Thus, the present investigation aimed at evaluating and adapting different existing methods for cell-envelope subproteome analyses of the strain S.

Emotional experience in sheep: predictability of a sudden event lowers subsequent emotional responses.

The study of emotions in animals can be approached thanks to a framework derived from appraisal theories developed in cognitive psychology, according to which emotions are triggered when the individual evaluates challenging events. This evaluation is based on a limited number of criteria such as the familiarity and the predictability of an event. If animals are able to experience emotions rather than simply displaying reflex responses to their environment, then their appraisal of events should, as in humans, modulate their emotional responses.

Adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein and mitochondrial enzyme activities in muscles as relevant indicators of marbling in cattle.

Marbling is an important criterion for beef quality grading in many countries. The purpose of the current study was to utilize the natural genetic variation to identify major metabolic indicators of marbling in cattle differing in genotypes. Rectus abdominis (RA, oxidative), semitendinosus (glycolytic), and longissimus thoracis (LT, oxido-glycolytic) muscles were taken from steers of different genotypes that expressed high [Angus, n = 16; and crossbred (Angus x Japanese Black), n = 10] or low (Limousin, n = 12) levels of marbling in their meat.

Postprandial whole-body protein metabolism after a meat meal is influenced by chewing efficiency in elderly subjects.

Background: The rate of protein digestion affects protein utilization in elderly subjects. Although meat is a widely consumed protein source, little is known of its digestion rate and how it can be affected by the chewing capacity of elderly subjects.

Objectives: We used a [1-(13)C]leucine balance with a single-meal protocol to assess the absorption rate of meat protein and to estimate the utilization of meat protein in elderly subjects with different chewing efficiency.

Diversity of microorganisms in the environment and dry fermented sausages of small traditional French processing units.

Naturally fermented sausages produced in nine traditional French processing units and their environmental surfaces were characterised by microbial and physico-chemical analyses. Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus were not detected in the environment whereas Listeria monocytogenes was detected in four samples. Staphylococcus/Kocuria, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas, yeasts/moulds and enterococci contaminated the surfaces of two processing units, indicating insufficient cleaning and disinfection procedures.

Effects of plant food potassium salts (citrate, galacturonate or tartrate) on acid-base status and digestive fermentations in rats.

Potassium (K) organic anion salts, such as potassium citrate or potassium malate in plant foods, may counteract low-grade metabolic acidosis induced by western diets, but little is known about the effect of other minor plant anions. Effects of K salts (chloride, citrate, galacturonate or tartrate) were thus studied on the mineral balance and digestive fermentations in groups of 6-week-old rats adapted to an acidogenic/5 % inulin diet. In all diet groups, substantial amounts of lactate and succinate were present in the caecum, besides SCFA.

Carnosine concentration of ingested meat affects carnosine net release into the portal vein of minipigs.

Because of its physiological effects, carnosine (beta-alanyl-L-histidine) can be considered as a bioactive food component. The objective of this study was to assess the quantitative significance of intact carnosine absorption after ingestion of different beef meats, using the minipig as animal model. In a preliminary experiment, we evaluated the level of dietary carnosine in intestinal digesta of pigs (n = 4) after a meat meal (0.

Physical and genetic map of the Staphylococcus xylosus C2a chromosome.

Staphylococcus xylosus is a ubiquitous bacterium frequently isolated from mammalian skin and occurring naturally on meat and dairy products. A physical and genetic map of the S. xylosus C2a chromosome was constructed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis after digestion with AscI, ApaI, I-CeuI, SfiI and SmaI enzymes and hybridization analysis.

Effect of industrial and natural biocides on spoilage, pathogenic and technological strains grown in biofilm.

This study aimed at investigating bactericide solutions effective on spoilage and pathogenic bacteria while preserving technological bacteria. Two compounds of essential oil (thymol and eugenol), one essential oil of Satureja thymbra and two industrial biocides (PE 270-30, Brillo) were tested on technological strains (Staphylococcus equorum, Staphylococcus succinus and Lactobacillus sakei) grown in monoculture biofilm and on a mixed biofilm of pathogenic bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes) and spoilage bacteria (Pseudomonas fragi, Escherichia coli). Biofilm cultures were performed in glass fibre filters for 24h at 20 degrees C before application of biocides.

Absorption and metabolism of caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid in the small intestine of rats.

The absorption and metabolism in the small intestine of chlorogenic acid (5-O-caffeoylquinic acid), the main phenolic acid in the human diet, and of caffeic acid were studied in rats in order to determine whether chlorogenic acid is directly absorbed or hydrolysed in the small intestine. Chlorogenic and caffeic acids were perfused into a segment of ileum plus jejunum during 45 min (50 microm, 0.75 ml/min) using an in situ intestinal perfusion rat model with cannulation of the biliary duct, and were quantified together with their metabolites in perfusion effluent, bile and plasma.