Ruminal Microbiome Differences in Angus Steers with Differing Feed Efficiencies during the Feedlot Finishing Phase.

The catabolic activity of the ruminal microbial community of cattle enables the conversion of low-quality feedstuffs into meat and milk. The rate at which this conversion occurs is termed feed efficiency, which is of crucial importance given that feed expenses account for up to 70% of the cost of animal production. The present study assessed the relationship between cattle feed efficiency and the composition of their ruminal microbial communities during the feedlot finishing period.

A Survey of the Levels of Selected Metals in U.S. Meat, Poultry, and Siluriformes Fish Samples Taken at Slaughter and Retail, 2017-2022.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) conducts surveillance of metallic elements in U.

Fecal Microbiome Differences in Angus Steers with Differing Feed Efficiencies during the Feedlot-Finishing Phase.

The gastrointestinal microbiota of cattle is important for feedstuff degradation and feed efficiency determination. This study evaluated the fecal microbiome of Angus steers with distinct feed efficiencies during the feedlot-finishing phase. Angus steers ( = 65), fed a feedlot-finishing diet for 82 days, had growth performance metrics evaluated.

The Impact of Pre-Slaughter Fasting on the Ruminal Microbial Population of Commercial Angus Steers.

Diet impacts the composition of the ruminal microbiota; however, prior to slaughter, cattle are fasted, which may change the ruminal microbial ecosystem structure and lead to dysbiosis. The objective of this study was to determine changes occurring in the rumen after pre-slaughter fasting, which can allow harmful pathogens an opportunity to establish in the rumen. Ruminal samples were collected before and after pre-slaughter fasting from seventeen commercial Angus steers.

Norovirus detection in water samples at the level of single virus copies per microliter using a smartphone-based fluorescence microscope.

Norovirus is a widespread public health threat and has a very low infectious dose. This protocol presents the extremely sensitive mobile detection of norovirus from water samples using a custom-built smartphone-based fluorescence microscope and a paper microfluidic chip. Antibody-conjugated fluorescent particles are immunoagglutinated and spread over the paper microfluidic chip by capillary action for individual counting using a smartphone-based fluorescence microscope.

Effects of a dry hydrogen peroxide disinfection system used in an egg cooler on hatchability and chick quality.

A sanitation method that could continually clean and disinfect the air and surfaces in a hatchery could provide a second layer of microbial reduction on top of routine cleaning and disinfection. A gaseous dry hydrogen peroxide (DHP) system has been used in other facilities for this purpose and could have potential for use in chicken hatcheries. Because the DHP is a true gas and can permeate through the entire hatchery space, contact with eggs during storage and incubation could potentially interfere with normal hatching processes.

The relationship between the rumen microbiome and carcass merit in Angus steers.

The objective of this study was to explore the relationships between ruminal microbial populations from Angus steers that were divergent in carcass traits related to adipose accumulation. Twenty-four feedlot-finished Angus steers (age: 538 ± 21 d; body weight following lairage: 593.9 ± 43.

The impact of feed efficiency selection on the ruminal, cecal, and fecal microbiomes of Angus steers from a commercial feedlot.

Feed is the greatest cost of animal production, so reducing it is critical to increase producer profits. In ruminants, the microbial population within the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is critical to nutrient digestion and absorption in both the rumen and the hindgut. The objective of this study was to determine the bacterial taxonomic profile of the rumen, cecum, and feces of feedlot steers at slaughter in order to link feed efficiency and the GIT bacterial populations from these three locations.

Draft Genomic Sequences of Three Escherichia coli Sequence Type 131 Isolates (H45, H43ii, and H43iii) from Patients in Lagos, Nigeria.

sequence type 131 (ST131) has recently emerged as a leading multidrug-resistant pathogen that causes urinary tract and bloodstream infections in humans. Here, we report the draft genomic sequences of three ST131 isolates, H45, H43ii, and H43iii, from urine samples of patients in Lagos, Nigeria.

Diversity and antimicrobial resistance of Enterococcus from the Upper Oconee Watershed, Georgia.

Aim: It is well-known that enterococci are abundant in the environment; however, the role of surface water as a reservoir of antimicrobial-resistant enterococci remains largely undefined. In this study, surface water samples were collected over a 2-year period from the Upper Oconee watershed, Athens, GA to examine enterococci and their antimicrobial resistance.

Methods And Results: Approximately 97% (445/458) of the samples were positive for enterococci and a total of 637 enterococci were isolated.

The dialogue between protozoa and bacteria in a microfluidic device.

In nature, protozoa play a major role in controlling bacterial populations. This paper proposes a microfluidic device for the study of protozoa behaviors change due to their chemotactic response in the presence of bacterial cells. A three-channel microfluidic device was designed using a nitrocellulose membrane into which channels were cut using a laser cutter.

Plasmid Replicons and β-Lactamase-Encoding Genes of Multidrug-Resistant Isolated from Humans and Food Animals in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

As resistance to the β-lactam class of antibiotics has become a worldwide problem, multidrug-resistant (MDR) human ( = 243) and food animal ( = 211) isolates from Lagos, Nigeria were further tested to characterize β-lactamase-encoding genes and plasmid replicons. Four β-lactamase-encoding genes (, , , and ) were detected using PCR-based replicon typing, 13 and 17 different replicons were identified using a subset of MDR from humans ( = 48) and animals ( = 96), respectively. Replicon types FIB and X2 were detected in equal numbers (2/48; 4.

Draft genome sequence of a human-associated streptogramin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Objectives: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the leading causes of nosocomial and community-acquired infections. Treatment of these infections with macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin (MLS) antibiotics has led to resistance to these antibiotics via various mechanisms. S.

Screening of Bacillus mojavensis biofilms and biosurfactants using laser ablation electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy.

Aims: Biofilms are composed of micro-organisms within a matrix of chemically complex polymer compounds and from these structures many unknown competitive factors are suggested that many considered are important consequences for biological control. This research was undertaken to study further the endophyte, Bacillus mojavensis and its relationships to biofilm and two classes of lipopeptides considered relevant for biocontrol of plant pathogens.

Methods And Results: Laser ablation electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and conventional MS/MS were used to study in situ biofilm production and the production of lipopeptides fengycin and surfactin in different strains of B.

Changes in the prevalence of Salmonella serovars associated swine production and correlations of avian, bovine and swine-associated serovars with human-associated serovars in the United States (1997-2015).

As Salmonella enterica is an important pathogen of food animals, surveillance programmes for S. enterica serovars have existed for many years in the United States. Surveillance programmes serve many purposes, one of which is to evaluate alterations in the prevalence of serovars that may signal changes in the ecology of the target organism.

Exposure to aflatoxin and fumonisin in children at risk for growth impairment in rural Tanzania.

Growth impairment is a major public health issue for children in Tanzania. The question remains as to whether dietary mycotoxins play a role in compromising children's growth. We examined children's exposures to dietary aflatoxin and fumonisin and potential impacts on growth in 114 children under 36 months of age in Haydom, Tanzania.

Gene Expression Response of Serotype Enteritidis Phage Type 8 to Subinhibitory Concentrations of the Plant-Derived Compounds -Cinnamaldehyde and Eugenol.

Enteritidis phage type 8 (PT8) is a major poultry-associated strain implicated in foodborne outbreaks in the United States. We previously reported that two plant-derived compounds generally recognized as safe (GRAS), -cinnamaldehyde (TC), and eugenol (EG), significantly reduced . Enteritidis colonization in broiler and layer chickens.

Is Quorum Signaling by Mycotoxins a New Risk-Mitigating Strategy for Bacterial Biocontrol of Fusarium verticillioides and Other Endophytic Fungal Species?

Bacterial endophytes are used as biocontrol organisms for plant pathogens such as the maize endophyte Fusarium verticillioides and its production of fumonisin mycotoxins. However, such applications are not always predictable and efficient. In this work, we hypothesize and review work that quorum sensing inhibitors are produced either by fungi or by pathogenic bacteria for competitive purposes, altering the efficiency of the biocontrol organisms.

A Novel Population of Fusarium fujikuroi Isolated from Southeastern U.S. Winegrapes Reveals the Need to Re-Evaluate the Species' Fumonisin Production.

Mycotoxins pose a challenge to a safe food supply worldwide, and their threat is expected to worsen with our changing climate. The need for diligence is exemplified by the discovery of fumonisin B2 in wine, which joins ochratoxin A as a mycotoxin of concern in the grape-wine chain. To elucidate the mycotoxin risk in southeastern American wine, grape samples were collected from vineyards during harvest in 2013 and potentially mycotoxigenic fungi (Fusarium and Aspergillus) were isolated from the samples.

Sequential dietary exposure to aflatoxin B1 and fumonisin B1 in F344 rats increases liver preneoplastic changes indicative of a synergistic interaction.

Dietary co-exposure to aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and fumonisin B1 (FB1) and their interaction on hepatocellular carcinogenesis is of particular concern in toxicology and public health. In this study we evaluated the liver preneoplastic effects of single and sequential dietary exposure to AFB1 and FB1 in the F344 rat carcinogenesis model. Serum biochemical alterations, liver histopathological changes, and the formation of liver glutathione S transferase positive (GST-P+) foci were the major outcome parameters examined.

Growth of Campylobacter incubated aerobically in fumarate-pyruvate media or media supplemented with dairy, meat, or soy extracts and peptones.

The ability of Campylobacter to grow aerobically in media supplemented with fumarate-pyruvate or with dairy, meat, or soy extracts or peptones was examined. Optical densities (OD) of Campylobacter cultured in basal media, media supplemented with fumarate-pyruvate or with 1.0, 2.

Identification of genes differentially expressed during early interactions between the stem rot fungus (Sclerotium rolfsii) and peanut (Arachis hypogaea) cultivars with increasing disease resistance levels.

Sclerotium rolfsii, a destructive soil-borne fungal pathogen causes stem rot of the cultivated peanut, Arachis hypogaea. This study aimed to identify differentially expressed genes associated with peanut resistance and fungal virulence. Four peanut cultivars (A100-32, Georgia Green, GA-07W and York) with increasing resistance levels were inoculated with a virulent S.

Two Horizontally Transferred Xenobiotic Resistance Gene Clusters Associated with Detoxification of Benzoxazolinones by Fusarium Species.

Microbes encounter a broad spectrum of antimicrobial compounds in their environments and often possess metabolic strategies to detoxify such xenobiotics. We have previously shown that Fusarium verticillioides, a fungal pathogen of maize known for its production of fumonisin mycotoxins, possesses two unlinked loci, FDB1 and FDB2, necessary for detoxification of antimicrobial compounds produced by maize, including the γ-lactam 2-benzoxazolinone (BOA). In support of these earlier studies, microarray analysis of F.