#Parasites change bees brains, but not their behaviorhoney bees Apis mellifera) infected with the parasitic mite Varroa destructor
or the microsporidia Nosema ceranae have changes in the chemical profile of their skin and in their brains finds research in Biomed Central's open access journal BMC Ecology.
Individual bees were infected with either the ectoparasite Varroa which lives on the bees or endoparasite Nosema
which invades their bodies and reintroduced to the hive. After a few days the effect of infection on bees and their behavior was monitored.
-or ectoparasite nevertheless infected bees were treated as normal by other bees--social interactions including antennal contact grooming feeding
However very few studies have analyzed the impact of parasites on bee phenotypes e g. brain and behavior.
and texture while aiding immunity bone health and the growth and balance of important bacteria in the digestive track.
Microbiotas are friendly beneficial bacteria said Kelly A. Tappenden Ph d. Kraft Foods human nutrition endowed professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Parenteral
In recent years some studies have suggested that cranberries prevent UTIS by hindering bacteria from sticking to the walls of the urinary tract thanks to phytochemicals known as proanthocyanidins (PACS.
Yet the mechanisms by which cranberry materials may alter bacterial behaviour have not been understood fully. Now researchers in Mcgill University's Department of Chemical engineering are shedding light on the biological mechanisms by
Nathalie Tufenkji add to evidence of cranberries'effects on UTI-causing bacteria. The findings also point to the potential for cranberry derivatives to be used to prevent bacterial colonization in medical devices such as catheters.
In research results published online last month in the Canadian Journal of Microbiology Prof. Tufenkji and members of her laboratory report that cranberry powder can inhibit the ability of Proteus mirabilis a bacterium frequently implicated in complicated UTIS to swarm on agar plates
and swim within the agar. The experiments also show that increasing concentrations of cranberry powder reduce the bacteria's production of urease an enzyme that contributes to the virulence of infections.
These results build on previous work by the Mcgill lab showing that cranberry materials hinder movement of other bacteria involved in UTIS.
A genome-wide analysis of an uropathogenic E coli revealed that expression of the gene that encodes for the bacteria's flagellar filament was decreased in the presence of cranberry PACS.
The team's findings are significant because bacterial movement is a key mechanism for the spread of infection as infectious bacteria literally swim to disseminate in the urinary tract
and to escape the host immune response While the effects of cranberry in living organisms remain subject to further study our findings highlight the role that cranberry consumption might play in the prevention of chronic infections Tufenkji says.
The current rise of bacterial resistance to antibiotics underscores the importance of developing another approach.
and Materials Engineering finds that cranberry-enriched silicone substrates impaired the spread of Proteus mirabilis. Those results published online in the journal Colloids and Surfaces B:
Biointerfaces point to potential use for cranberry derivatives to hinder the spread of germs in implantable medical devices such as catheters
and filling in uncharted branches in the bacterial and archaeal tree of life. In an international collaboration led by the U s. Department of energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) the most recent findings from exploring microbial dark matter were published online July 14 2013 in the journal Nature.
Microbes are the most abundant and diverse forms of life On earth said Tanja Woyke DOE JGI Microbial Program Head and senior author on the Nature publication.
To get around the difficulty of growing most microbes in the lab recent efforts have focused on conducting surveys based on sequencing marker
They observed certain traits in Archaea that previously only were seen in Bacteria and vice versa. One such trait involves an enzyme that bacteria commonly use for creating space within their protective cell wall
which is needed so the cell can for example expand during cell division. As it rather generically cleaves the protective bacterial cell envelope it needs to be regulated very tightly.
For the first time a group of Archaea was found to encode this potent enzyme and the authors hypothesize that Archaea may deploy it as a defense mechanism against attacking Bacteria.
The second contribution arising from the work was the correct reassignment or binning of data of some 340 million DNA fragments from other habitats to the proper lineage.
This course correction provides insights into how organisms function in the context of a particular ecosystem as well as a much improved and more accurate understanding of the associations of newly discovered genes with resident life forms.
and are essential for studying bacterial and archaeal diversity and evolution Woyke said. It's a bit like looking at a family tree to figure out who your sisters
and other useful traits that can be expressed by different groups of microbes. Phil Hugenholtz Director of the Australian Centre for Ecogenomics at The University of Queensland a former DOE JGI researcher and another one of the paper's authors reinforced the motivation for taking on this expedition
The Nature publication Insights into the phylogeny and coding potential of microbial dark matter builds upon a DOE JGI pilot project the Genomic Encyclopedia of Bacteria and Archaea GEBA:
http://www. jgi. doe. gov/programs/GEBA/)and closely articulates with other international efforts such as the Microbial Earth Project which aims to generate a comprehensive genome catalog of all archaeal and bacterial
The parasitic fungus afflicts crops such as wheat and barley and is responsible for large harvest shortfalls every year.
In order to infect the host plant the mildew fungus needs to be able to successfully disable the plant's defense mechanisms--the parasite has to be adapted perfectly to its host.
In a parasite-host situation new combinations of genetic material are a disadvantage for the parasite as the adaptation to the host
Asexual reproduction as a success model seems to be characteristic of many parasitic fungi including those that afflict humans such as athlete's foot.
If wheat improves its defense mechanisms against the parasites the fungus has to be able to follow suit
One of these red clover is particularly important due to the symbiotic bacteria which live in its roots
#Whole chickens from farmers markets may have more pathogenic bacteriaraw whole chickens purchased from farmers markets throughout Pennsylvania contained significantly higher levels of bacteria that can cause foodborne illness compared to those purchased from grocery stores in the region
according to a small-scale study by researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciencesof 100 whole chickens purchased from farmers markets 90 percent tested positive for Campylobacter
and 28 percent harbored Salmonella. By comparison during the same period 20 percent of raw whole organic chickens purchased from grocery stores were found to contain Campylobacter bacteria and 28 percent tested positive for Salmonella.
Just 8 percent of raw whole nonorganic conventionally processed chickens from the grocery stores tested positive for Campylobacter and 52 percent of those contained Salmonella.
Overall the chickens purchased at the farmers markets carried higher bacterial loads than the birds purchased at grocery stores.
The research published online in the Journal of Food safety sheds some doubt on the widely held belief that locally bought poultry is safer according to lead researcher Catherine Cutter professor and food safety extension specialist in the Department of Food Science.
The significantly higher bacteria levels in chickens sold at farmers markets prompted the researchers to look for a cause.
The fact that the chickens from farmers markets had much higher levels of Campylobacter and Salmonella indicated that there's something else going on Cutter said.
So Josh developed a survey for poultry vendors with questions focused on processing methods as well as food safety practices.
Bacteria that cause foodborne illness such as Campylobacter and Salmonella are destroyed by proper cooking of poultry products;
He believes that how bacteria which might carry resistant genes are transmitted to humans must be considered
highly pathogenic avian influenza H5n1. Among other commonalities both viruses have a clinical picture that includes bilateral pneumonia acute respiratory distress syndrome
The possibility that H7n9 might infect pigs is particularly troubling as swine are considered a mixing vessel for viruses--a breeding ground for novel viral reassortants like the 2009 H1n1 pandemic influenza strain commonly known as swine flu.
#Workers at industrial farms carry drug-resistant bacteria associated with livestocka new study found drug-resistant bacteria associated with livestock in the noses of industrial livestock workers in North carolina but not in the noses of antibiotic-free livestock workers.
The drug-resistant bacteria examined were Staphylococcus aureus commonly known as Staph which include the well-known bug MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).
New Staph strains are emerging in people who have close contact with livestock animals and for this reason have been given the name livestock-associated Staph.
While everyone in the study had direct or indirect contact with livestock only industrial workers carried antibiotic-resistant Staph with multiple genetic characteristics linked to livestock.
The study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public health the University of North carolina at Chapel hill the Rural Empowerment Association for Community Help the George washington University and the Statens Serum Institute
published July 2 by the journal PLOS ONE confirms earlier findings in Iowa and raises concern about antibiotics use in livestock production.
and now North carolina making scientists concerned that these bacteria could follow a similar trajectory into the community.
Like most illnesses caused by bacteria S. aureus infections are treated with antibiotics. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention some Staph cannot be killed by antibiotics meaning they are resistant.
MRSA is a strain of Staph bacteria that is resistant to methicillin and certain first-line antibiotics called beta-lactams.
Infections with drug-resistant strains like MRSA can be particularly difficult to treat. The study was based on interviews
and for genetic markers considered to indicate that the bacteria may have come from livestock. This study shows that these livestock-associated strains are present among workers at industrial livestock operations
Workers were not experiencing Staph infections at the time of the study but when antibiotic resistant bacteria do cause infections they can be harder to treat.
Researchers found that S. aureus that were multidrug-resistant were roughly twice as prevalent among individuals exposed to the industrial compared to the antibiotic-free livestock operation environment
Livestock-associated methicillin and multidrug resistant Staphylococcus aureus is present among industrial not antibiotic-free livestock operation workers in North carolina was written by Jessica L. Rinsky Maya Nadimpalli Steve Wing
A team of researchers from Switzerland found that the odor released by maize plants under attack by insects attract not only parasitic wasps
We have been seeing an increase in the number of antibiotic resistant bacteria that cause pneumonia (also called BRD) in cattle said Brian Lubbers assistant professor in the diagnostic lab based at Kansas State university.
Many of these bacteria are resistant to not one but almost all of the antibiotics that we use to treat pneumonia in cattle.
They found that over that period a high percentage of M. haemolytica bacteria recovered from cattle lungs were resistant to several of the drugs typically used to treat that pathogen.
or more antimicrobials as the definition of multi-drug resistance 63 percent of the bacteria would be classified as multidrug resistant in 2011 compared with 46 percent in 2010 and 42 percent in 2009.
The questions of how these bacteria develop or where they come from how widespread they are and
UC Davis researchers analyzed the water samples for microbial and nutrient pollution including fecal indicator bacteria fecal coliform E coli nitrogen
and phosphorus. The scientists found that recreation sites were the cleanest with the lowest levels of fecal indicator bacteria.
They found no significant differences in fecal indicator bacteria between grazing lands and areas without recreation or grazing.
The study noted that several regional regulatory programs use different water quality standards for fecal bacteria.
However the U s. EPA states that E coli are better indicators of fecal contamination and provide the most accurate assessment of water quality conditions and human health risks.
Differences in the relative abundance of certain bacterial species in the rootworm gut help the adult rootworm beetles feed on soybean leaves
These bacteria perhaps. Controlling rootworms is an expensive concern faced by all Midwest corn growers said study co-author Joseph Spencer an insect behaviorist at the Illinois Natural history Survey (part of the Prairie Research Institute
Seufferheld and his colleagues thought that microbes in the rootworms'guts might be helping them better tolerate life in a soybean field.
To test this hypothesis graduate student Chia-Ching Chu analyzed the population of microbes living in the guts of rootworm beetles collected from seven sites across the Midwest.
Chu found significant and consistent differences in the relative abundance of various types of bacteria in the guts of rotation-resistant and nonresistant rootworms (see graphic.
The researchers found other parallels between the composition of gut microbes and the life history of the rootworms.
To determine whether the microbes were in fact giving the rotation-resistant beetles an advantage the researchers dosed the beetles with antibiotics.
The message of the research Seufferheld said is that the gut microbes are not just passive residents of the rootworm gut.
#Factors that influence spinach contamination pre-harvest determineda team of researchers from Texas and Colorado has identified a variety of factors that influence the likelihood of E coli contamination of spinach on farms prior
E coli contamination of spinach on farms in Colorado and Texas was 172 times more likely
As E coli is used commonly as an indicator of fecal contamination with food-borne pathogens the practice of hygiene--availability of portable toilets
The researchers assayed 955 spinach samples from 12 farms in the two states finding that generic E coli was present on 63 of them (6. 6 percent.
and examined what type of bacteria was in the intestine through fecal samples and intestinal biopsies.
In the high-fructose group the researchers found that the type of intestinal bacteria hadn't changed
and consequently allowing the bacteria to leak out at a 30 percent higher rate Kavanagh said.
What we can say is added that high sugars caused bacteria to exit the intestines go into the blood stream
and bacteria using freshly cut plant material. While these fungus gardens are a source of food
and support from Roche Applied science's 10 Gigabase Grant Program to understand the unique roles of fungi and bacteria.
in fact the gardens are also home to a diversity of bacteria that may help boost the fungus's productivity.
and bacteria says Garret Suen co-author of the study and a UW-Madison assistant professor of bacteriology and Wisconsin Energy Institute researcher.
The researchers have a few leads in their investigation of the mysterious role of bacteria in leaf-cutter ant communities
In addition to providing nitrogen and key vitamins the bacteria appear to help the fungus access energy-rich cellulose by breaking apart other plant polymers that encase it such as hemicellulose.
Lambert said that another theory is that excess fat in the diet interferes with the body's ability to keep a bacterial component called endotoxin from entering the bloodstream through gaps between cells in the digestive system--gut barrier function
and mild autumn weather result in a higher prevalence of deer keds (louse fly parasite). A great deal of pine forest in the habitat of the moose has the same effect.
The findings of this Phd project can be used to limit the damaging effects of the parasite in the Norwegian landscape.
The parasite sucks blood principally from cervids (moose roe deer and red deer) but it also attacks humans and other livestock.
In Finland the parasite is regarded as a major obstacle to people's enjoyment of nature during the autumn
which can be favourable for the parasite and possible pathogens in the deer ked and its host.
The results showed that the parasite's area of distribution now stretches from Lillesand in the south to Elverum in the north with the greatest density along the border to Sweden.
but the density of the parasites varied to a significant degree. Madslien points to a clear positive connection between the amount of pine forest in the habitat of the moose and the infestation intensity of deer keds in the coats of the moose.
Madslien found a high prevalence of bacteria of the genus Bartonella spp. both in the moose's blood and in the keds themselves.
Whereas moose outside the distribution range of the ked were infected with only one type of Bartonella bacterium moose inside the distribution range were infected with two different Bartonella bacteria.
These findings indicate that moose are a reservoir for Bartonella spp . and that deer keds act as vectors for Bartonella bacteria infections.
However it is not yet clear to what degree these bacteria can cause disease. Measuring the stress hormone cortisol in the moose's coat was used as a method for appraising the long-term effect of the deer ked on the health
and welfare of moose but Madslien found that in general there was little connection between the number of deer keds the weight of moose at the time of slaughter and the level of cortisol in the hair.
This indicates that moose can tolerate limited amounts of the parasite relatively well. Madslien carried out his doctoral research at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute (VI)
between an invading ectoparasite its host and the environment. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Norwegian School of Veterinary Science.
Successes and failures from the first billion acressince 1996 farmers worldwide have planted more than a billion acres (400 million hectares) of genetically modified corn and cotton that produce insecticidal proteins from the bacterium
Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt for short. Bt proteins used for decades in sprays by organic farmers kill some devastating pests
We've also started exchanging ideas and information with scientists facing related challenges such as herbicide resistance in weeds and resistance to drugs in bacteria HIV and cancer.
Evolving diversity of microbial life in bird gutsgut bacteria are known to have a central role both in human and in animal health.
Animals acquire different bacteria as they age but how the microbial communities in the bodies of wild animals change over time is understood not well.
Wouter Van dongen and colleagues at the Vetmeduni Vienna have examined the gastrointestinal bacteria of chick and adult black-legged kittiwakes.
Surprisingly the microbial assemblages of chicks and adults generally differ greatly with only a few types of bacteria in common.
Gastrointestinal bacteria are important for digestion immune functions and general health. Wouter Van dongen and colleagues from the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology of the Vetmeduni Vienna have collaborated with scientists from the Laboratoire Ãolution
& Diversit Biologique (EDB) Toulouse and from the US Geological Survey Anchorage to study the cloacal bacterial assemblies of black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla).
The bacteria in the cloaca are known to be similar to assemblages deeper within the gastrointestinal tract so the researchers examined samples from the cloaca of birds at different ages to look indirectly at gut bacteria.
Flushing bacteriato obtain bacterial samples the researchers flushed the birds'cloacae by gently infusing a salt solution into the cloacae and collecting the liquid.
The bacterial diversity in the cloaca of each bird could be estimated with the aid of molecular genetic techniques.
The scientists were able to identify different bacterial assemblages and thus to draw a clear picture of how bacterial communities in bird guts change as the birds age.
From a youthful hodgepodge to a stable communitythere turned out to be a great variety of bacterial species in the guts of kittiwake chicks
but the assortment in the adults was much less diverse. Astonishingly the sampled chicks and adults had only seven out of a total of 64 bacteria species in common
and some of the bacteria that were very common in adults were not present in chicks at all.
Wouter Van dongen says We were surprised very to find that the bacteria in chick gastrointestinal tracts are so different from those in adults.
Given that chicks share the nest with their parents and eat food that is regurgitated by the parents we expected the level of bacterial sharing to be a lot higher.
The scientists'findings suggest that young birds are susceptible to many species of bacteria that pass through their gut.
As the animals mature the number of bacterial species decreases. Particular groups of bacteria that stay ultimately form a stable community.
A number of causesit is known from other studies that the composition of gastrointestinal microbes changes according to the age of the host.
The differences may correlate with changes in the birds'gut chemistry over time or with changes in diet
or may result from competition between bacterial species. A more developed immune system in adults and the lack of mobility of the young could also play a part.
Further studies are needed to determine the causes and consequences of the variation in the bacterial assemblages in guts of wild birds.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Veterinã¤rmedizinische Universitã¤t Wien. Note:
or from bacteria biomarkers said Jaramillo. When intense volcanic activity produced huge quantities of carbon dioxide 120 million years ago in the mid-Cretaceous period yearly temperatures in the South American tropics rose 9
#Changing gut bacteria through diet affects brain functionucla researchers now have the first evidence that bacteria ingested in food can affect brain function in humans.
In an early proof-of-concept study of healthy women they found that women who regularly consumed beneficial bacteria known as probiotics through yogurt showed altered brain function both
The discovery that changing the bacterial environment or microbiota in the gut can affect the brain carries significant implications for future research that could point the way toward dietary
one group ate a specific yogurt containing a mix of several probiotics--bacteria thought to have a positive effect on the intestines--twice a day for four weeks;
The UCLA researchers are seeking to pinpoint particular chemicals produced by gut bacteria that may be triggering the signals to the brain.
To counteract this problem producers have included saturated fats such as corn germ beef tallow palm kernel oil and glycerol in diets containing DDGS
For this study corn germ beef tallow palm kernel oil and glycerol were added each to a diet containing DDGS.
Selecting the final list of new species from a wide representation of life forms such as bacteria fungi plants
Excluding unknown millions of microbes scientists estimate there are between 10 and 12 million living species Story Source:
For example CO2 emissions also come from soil as microbes speed up their consumption of organic matter with rising temperatures.
The analysis of these novel H7n9 influenza virus isolates showed that that the six internal genes were derived from avian H9n2 viruses
and prevent parasites in poultry. In 2010 industry representatives estimated that 88 percent of the roughly nine billion chickens raised for human consumption in the U s. received roxarsone.
This strain known as H3n2 spread around the globe and eventually killed an estimated 1 million people.
A new study from MIT reveals that there are many strains of H3n2 circulating in birds
There are indeed examples of H3n2 that we need to be concerned about says Sasisekharan who is also a member of MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.
Strains of H3n2 have been circulating in humans since the 1968 pandemic but they have evolved to a less dangerous form that produces a nasty seasonal flu.
However H3n2 strains are also circulating in pigs and birds. Sasisekharan and his colleagues wanted to determine the risk of H3n2 strains reemerging in humans
whose immune systems would no longer recognize the more dangerous forms of H3n2. This type of event has a recent precedent:
In 2009 a strain of H1n1 emerged that was very similar to the virus that caused a 1918 pandemic that killed 50 million to 100 million people.
We asked if that could happen with H3 Sasisekharan says. You would think it's more readily possible with H3
Genetic similaritiesin the new study the researchers compared the 1968 H3n2 strain and about 1100 H3 strains now circulating in pigs
2) 2 percent soy germ;(3) tomato powder plus soy germ; and (4) a control group that ate neither tomato nor soy.
The 4-to 18-week time frame modeled an early and lifelong exposure to the bioactive components in these foods he said.
The researcher's whole-food recommendation is bolstered by the way soy germ performed in this study. He noted that soy germ has a very different isoflavone profile than the rest of the soybean.
Of the isoflavones genistein gets most of the attention. But soy germ is very high in the other isoflavones daidzein
and glycitein and low in genistein he said. It was interesting for the scientists to see that the soy product they used
and the increased spread of Cassava Brown Streak Disease or CBSD warning that the rapidly proliferating plant virus could cause a 50 percent drop in production of a crop that provides a significant source of food and income for 300 million Africans.
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