Displaying all 20 publications

Abstract:
Sort:
  1. Enhanced phagocytosis of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans cells by macrophages activated by a probiotic Lactobacillus strain
    Jaffar N, Okinaga T, Nishihara T, Maeda T
    J Dairy Sci, 2018 Jul;101(7):5789-5798.
    PMID: 29680655 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2017-14355
    The activation of phagocytosis is one important approach to clearing pathogenic cells in a host. This study evaluated the ability of probiotic lactobacilli to induce phagocytic activity as well as the clearance of a periodontal pathogen, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. First, the activation of phagocytosis was found by using lyophilized dead cells. Probiotic Lactobacillus strains significantly enhanced the phagocytic activity of macrophage cells, indicating that the probiotic lactobacilli have a remarkable ability to stimulate the macrophages. Essentially, 3 Lactobacillus strains tested did not have any critical toxic effect on the murine macrophage, and Lactobacillus johnsonii NBRC 13952 showed the least cytotoxic effect on the RAW264.7 macrophages. The expression of classically activated macrophage markers, IL-1β, and cluster of differentiation 80 increased by L. johnsonii NBRC 13952; however, there was no significant difference for IL-18. The highest phagocytic activity by macrophages was found in a condition in which the macrophage activated by L. johnsonii NBRC 13952 functions to kill the cells of A. actinomycetemcomitans. Correlating with the result, a high amount of hypodiploid DNA (SubG1) was detected from the macrophage cells stimulated by L. johnsonii NBRC 13952. Taken together, the results suggest that macrophages activated by the Lactobacillus strain can facilitate the phagocytosis of A. actinomycetemcomitans cells by linking with enhanced apoptotic activities. In conclusion, L. johnsonii NBRC 13952 has a certain role in activating the RAW264.7 macrophages, thereby counteracting the infection of A. actinomycetemcomitans.
  2. Biofilm formation of periodontal pathogens on hydroxyapatite surfaces: Implications for periodontium damage
    Jaffar N, Miyazaki T, Maeda T
    J Biomed Mater Res A, 2016 11;104(11):2873-80.
    PMID: 27390886 DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.35827
    Biofilm formation of periodontal pathogens on teeth surfaces promotes the progression of periodontal disease. Hence, understanding the mechanisms of bacterial attachment to the dental surfaces may inform strategies for the maintenance of oral health. Although hydroxyapatite (HA) is a major calcium phosphate component of teeth, effect of biofilm formation on HA surfaces remains poorly characterized. In this study, biofilm-forming abilities by the periodontal pathogens Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans Y4 and Porphyromonas gingivalis 381 were investigated on dense and porous HAs that represent enamel and dentin surfaces, respectively. These experiments showed greater biofilm formation on porous HA, but differing attachment profiles and effects of the two pathogens. Specifically, while the detachment of A. actinomycetemcomitans Y4 biofilm was observed, P. gingivalis 381 biofilm increased with time. Moreover, observations of HA morphology following formation of A. actinomycetemcomitans Y4 biofilm revealed gaps between particles, whereas no significant changes were observed in the presence of P. gingivalis 381. Finally, comparisons of calcium leakage showed only slight differences between bacterial species and HA types and may be masked by bacterial calcium uptake. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 104A: 2873-2880, 2016.
  3. Fulltext Four products from Escherichia coli pseudogenes increase hydrogen production
    Mohd Yusoff MZ, Hashiguchi Y, Maeda T, Wood TK
    Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 2013 Oct 4;439(4):576-9.
    PMID: 24025676 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2013.09.016
    Pseudogenes are considered to be nonfunctional genes that lack a physiological role. By screening 3985 Escherichia coli mutants using chemochromic membranes, we found four pseudogenes involved in hydrogen metabolism. Knockouts of pseudogenes ydfW and ypdJ had a defective hydrogen phenotype on glucose and formate, respectively. Also, the knockout of pseudogene yqiG formed hydrogen from formate but not from glucose. For the yqiG mutant, 100% hydrogen recovery was obtained by the complementation of YqiG via a plasmid. The knockout of pseudogene ylcE showed hydrogen deficiency in minimal media which suggested that the role of YlcE is associated with cell growth. Hence, the products of these four pseudogenes play an important physiological role in hydrogen production in E. coli.
  4. Fulltext Mature Biofilm Degradation by Potential Probiotics: Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans versus Lactobacillus spp
    Jaffar N, Ishikawa Y, Mizuno K, Okinaga T, Maeda T
    PLoS One, 2016;11(7):e0159466.
    PMID: 27438340 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159466
    The biofilm degradation of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is essential as a complete periodontal disease therapy, and here we show the effects of potential probiotic bacteria such as Lactobacillus spp. for the biofilm of several serotypes of A. actinomycetemcomitans strains. Eight of the 13 species showed the competent biofilm degradation of ≥ 90% reduction in biofilm values in A. actinomycetemcomitans Y4 (serotype b) as well as four of the seven species for the biofilm of A. actinomycetemcomitans OMZ 534 (serotype e). In contrast, the probiotic bacteria did not have a big impact for the degradation of A. actinomycetemcomitans SUNY 75 (serotype a) biofilm. The dispersed A. actinomycetemcomitans Y4 cells through the biofilm detachment were still viable and plausible factors for the biofilm degradation were not due to the lactic acid and low pH conditions. The three enzymes, protease, lipase, and amylase may be responsible for the biofilm degradation; in particular, lipase was the most effective enzyme for the biofilm degradation of A. actinomycetemcomitans Y4 along with the protease activity which should be also important for the other serotypes. Remarkable lipase enzyme activities were detected from some of the potential probiotics and a supporting result using a lipase inhibitor presented corroborating evidence that lipase activity is one of the contributing factors for biofilm degradation outside of the protease which is also another possible factor for the biofilm of the other serotype of A. actinomycetemcomitans strains. On the other hand, the biofilm of A. actinomycetemcomitans SUNY 75 (serotype a) was not powerfully degraded by the lipase enzyme because the lipase inhibitor was slightly functional for only two of potential probiotics.
  5. A rapid colorimetric screening method for vanillic acid and vanillin-producing bacterial strains
    Zamzuri NA, Abd-Aziz S, Rahim RA, Phang LY, Alitheen NB, Maeda T
    J Appl Microbiol, 2014 Apr;116(4):903-10.
    PMID: 24314059 DOI: 10.1111/jam.12410
    To isolate a bacterial strain capable of biotransforming ferulic acid, a major component of lignin, into vanillin and vanillic acid by a rapid colorimetric screening method.
  6. Fulltext Bioconversion of glycerol for bioethanol production using isolated Escherichia coli ss1
    Suhaimi SN, Phang LY, Maeda T, Abd-Aziz S, Wakisaka M, Shirai Y, et al.
    Braz J Microbiol, 2012 Apr;43(2):506-16.
    PMID: 24031858 DOI: 10.1590/S1517-83822012000200011
    Bioconverting glycerol into various valuable products is one of glycerol's promising applications due to its high availability at low cost and the existence of many glycerol-utilizing microorganisms. Bioethanol and biohydrogen, which are types of renewable fuels, are two examples of bioconverted products. The objectives of this study were to evaluate ethanol production from different media by local microorganism isolates and compare the ethanol fermentation profile of the selected strains to use of glucose or glycerol as sole carbon sources. The ethanol fermentations by six isolates were evaluated after a preliminary screening process. Strain named SS1 produced the highest ethanol yield of 1.0 mol: 1.0 mol glycerol and was identified as Escherichia coli SS1 Also, this isolated strain showed a higher affinity to glycerol than glucose for bioethanol production.
  7. Improvement of cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase gene expression in Escherichia coli by insertion of regulatory sequences involved in the promotion of RNA transcription
    Ramli N, Abd-Aziz S, Alitheen NB, Hassan MA, Maeda T
    Mol Biotechnol, 2013 Jul;54(3):961-8.
    PMID: 23338983 DOI: 10.1007/s12033-013-9647-7
    Regulation of RNA transcription in controlling the expression of genes at promoter and terminator regions is crucial as the interaction of RNA polymerase occurred at both sites. Gene encoding cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase (CGTase) from Bacillus sp. NR5 UPM isolated in the previous study was used for further construction of pTZCGT-SS, pTZCGT-BS and pTZCGT-BT expression systems for enhancement of CGTase production. The putative promoter regions, -35 and -10 sequences were found in the upstream of the mature gene start codon. Whereas, long inverted repeats sequences which can form a stable stem and loop structure was found downstream of the open reading frame (ORF) of Bacillus sp. NR5 UPM CGTase. The construction of E. coli strain harbouring pTZCGT-BS showed increment of 3.2-fold in CGTase activity compared to the wild type producer. However, insertion of terminator downstream of CGTase gene in E. coli strain harbouring pTZCGT-BT only resulted in 4.42 % increment of CGTase production compared to E. coli strain containing pTZCGT-BS, perhaps due to low intrinsic termination efficiency. Thus, it is suggested that the insertion of the putative promoter regions upstream of the coding sequence for the construction of CGTase expression system will further enhance in the recombinant enzyme production.
  8. Seeking key microorganisms for enhancing methane production in anaerobic digestion of waste sewage sludge
    Mustapha NA, Hu A, Yu CP, Sharuddin SS, Ramli N, Shirai Y, et al.
    Appl Microbiol Biotechnol, 2018 Jun;102(12):5323-5334.
    PMID: 29696331 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-018-9003-8
    Efficient approaches for the utilization of waste sewage sludge have been widely studied. One of them is to use it for the bioenergy production, specifically methane gas which is well-known to be driven by complex bacterial interactions during the anaerobic digestion process. Therefore, it is important to understand not only microorganisms for producing methane but also those for controlling or regulating the process. In this study, azithromycin analogs belonging to macrolide, ketolide, and lincosamide groups were applied to investigate the mechanisms and dynamics of bacterial community in waste sewage sludge for methane production. The stages of anaerobic digestion process were evaluated by measuring the production of intermediate substrates, such as protease activity, organic acids, the quantification of bacteria and archaea, and its community dynamics. All azithromycin analogs used in this study achieved a high methane production compared to the control sample without any antibiotic due to the efficient hydrolysis process and the presence of important fermentative bacteria and archaea responsible in the methanogenesis stage. The key microorganisms contributing to the methane production may be Clostridia, Cladilinea, Planctomycetes, and Alphaproteobacteria as an accelerator whereas Nitrosomonadaceae and Nitrospiraceae may be suppressors for methane production. In conclusion, the utilization of antibiotic analogs of macrolide, ketolide, and lincosamide groups has a promising ability in finding the essential microorganisms and improving the methane production using waste sewage sludge.
  9. Survivability of Alcaligenaceae and Chromatiaceae as palm oil mill effluent pollution bioindicators under fluctuations of temperature, pH and total suspended solid
    Mohamad-Zainal NSL, Ramli N, Zolkefli N, Mustapha NA, Hassan MA, Maeda T
    J Biosci Bioeng, 2021 Aug;132(2):174-182.
    PMID: 34074597 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiosc.2021.04.014
    Alcaligenaceae and Chromatiaceae were previously reported as the specific pollution bioindicators in the receiving river water contaminated by palm oil mill effluent (POME) final discharge. Considering the inevitable sensitivity of bacteria under environmental stresses, it is crucial to assess the survivability of both bacteria in the fluctuated environmental factors, proving their credibility as POME pollution bioindicators in the environment. In this study, the survivability of Alcaligenaceae and Chromatiaceae from facultative pond, algae (aerobic) pond and final discharge were evaluated under varying sets of temperature (25-40°C), pH (pH 7-9) and low/high total suspended solid (TSS) contents of POME collected during low/high crop seasons of oil palm, respectively. Following treatment, the viability status and compositions of the bacterial community were assessed using flow cytometry-based assay and high-throughput Illumina MiSeq, respectively, in correlation with the changes of physicochemical properties. The changes in temperature, pH and TSS indeed changed the physicochemical properties of POME. The functionality of bacterial cells was also shifted where the viable cells and high nucleic acid contents reduced at elevated levels of temperature and pH but increased at high TSS content. Interestingly, the Alcaligenaceae and Chromatiaceae continuously detected in the samples which accounted for more than 0.5% of relative abundance, with a positive correlation with biological oxygen demand (BOD5) concentration. Therefore, either Alcaligenaceae or Chromatiaceae or both could be regarded as the reliable and specific bacterial indicators to indicate the pollution in river water due to POME final discharge despite the fluctuations in temperature, pH and TSS.
  10. Fulltext Pseudogene product YqiG is important for pflB expression and biohydrogen production in Escherichia coli BW25113
    Zakaria MA, Mohd Yusoff MZ, Zakaria MR, Hassan MA, Wood TK, Maeda T
    3 Biotech, 2018 Oct;8(10):435.
    PMID: 30306004 DOI: 10.1007/s13205-018-1461-2
    Pseudogenes in the Escherichia coli genome are assumed to be non-functional. In this study, Keio collection BW25113∆yqiG and YqiG-producing strain (BW25113/pCA24N-YqiG) were used to evaluate the importance of pseudogene yqiG in hydrogen metabolism. Our results show pseudogene protein YqiG was identified as an essential protein in the production of biohydrogen from glucose. The mutant yqiG decreased biohydrogen production from 37 µmol mg-1 protein to 6 µmol mg-1 protein compared to the wild-type strain, and glucose consumption was reduced by 80%. Through transcriptional analysis, we found that the yqiG mutation represses pflB transcription tenfold; pflB encodes pyruvate-formate lyase, one of the key enzymes in the anaerobic metabolism of E. coli. Moreover, production of YqiG stimulated glycolysis and increased biohydrogen productivity 1.5-fold compared to that of the wild-type strain. Thus, YqiG is important for the central glycolysis reaction and is able to influence hydrogen metabolism activity in E. coli.
  11. Toxicity identification and evaluation of palm oil mill effluent and its effects on the planktonic crustacean Daphnia magna
    Hashiguchi Y, Zakaria MR, Maeda T, Yusoff MZM, Hassan MA, Shirai Y
    Sci Total Environ, 2020 Mar 25;710:136277.
    PMID: 31923663 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136277
    Palm oil mill effluent (POME) contains complex and highly biodegradable organic matters so discharging it without appropriate treatment may lead to environmental problems. POME final discharge quality is normally determined based on conventional chemical detection such as by biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The novelty of the present study is that the toxicity effects of the POME final discharge samples were evaluated based on whole effluent toxicity (WET) and toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) tests using Daphnia magna. The toxicity unit (TU) values were recorded to be in the range from TU = 1.1-11 obtained from WET, and the TIE manipulation tests suggested that a substantial amount of toxic compounds was contained in the POME final discharge. Phenol, 2,6-bis (1,1-dimethylethyl)- and heavy metals such as Cu and Zn were detected in all the effluents and were recognized as being the main toxicants in the POME final discharge. GC/MS analyses also successfully identified cyclic volatile methyl siloxanes; cyclotetrasiloxane, octamethyl- (D4), cyclopentasiloxane, decamethyl- (D5), cyclohexasiloxane, dodecamethyl- (D6). D4 was detected at 0.0148-0.0357 mg/L, which could be potentially toxic. The palm oil industry used only water in the form of steam to process the fruits, and the presence of these compounds might be derived from the detergents and grease used in palm oil mill cleaning and maintenance operations. An appropriate treatment process is thus required to eliminate these toxicants from the POME final discharge. It is recommended that two approaches, chemical-based monitoring as well as biological toxicity-based monitoring, should be utilized for achieving an acceptable quality of POME final discharge in the future.
  12. Biochar enhanced the nitrifying and denitrifying bacterial communities during the composting of poultry manure and rice straw
    Zainudin MH, Mustapha NA, Maeda T, Ramli N, Sakai K, Hassan M
    Waste Manag, 2020 Apr 01;106:240-249.
    PMID: 32240940 DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2020.03.029
    Biochar has proven to be a feasible additive for mitigating nitrogen loss during the composting process. This study aims to evaluate the influence of biochar addition on bacterial community and physicochemical properties changes, including ammonium (NH4+), nitrite (NO2-) and nitrate (NO3-) contents during the composting of poultry manure. The composting was carried out by adding 20% (w/w) of biochar into the mixture of poultry manure and rice straw with a ratio of 2:1, and the same treatment without biochar was prepared as a control. The finished product of control compost recorded the high contents of NO2- and NO3- (366 mg/kg and 600 mg/kg) with reduced the total NH4+ content to 10 mg/kg. Meanwhile, biochar compost recorded a higher amount of total NH4+ content (110 mg/kg) with low NO2- and NO3- (161 mg/kg and 137 mg/kg) content in the final composting material. The principal component analysis showed that the dynamics of dominant genera related to Halomonas, Pusillimonas, and Pseudofulvimonas, all of which were known as nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria, was significantly correlated with the dynamic of NO2- and NO3- content throughout the composting process. The genera related to Pusillimonas, and Pseudofulvimonas appeared as the dominant communities as the NO2- and NO3- increased. In contrast, as the NO2- and NO3- concentration decreased, the Halomonas genus were notably enriched in biochar compost. This study revealed the bacterial community shifts corresponded with the change of physicochemical properties, which provides essential information for a better understanding of monitoring and improving the composting process.
  13. Insights into bacterial community metatranscriptome and metabolome in river water influenced by palm oil mill effluent final discharge
    Sharuddin SS, Ramli N, Yusoff MZM, Muhammad NAN, Ho LS, Maeda T
    J Appl Microbiol, 2023 Oct 04;134(10).
    PMID: 37757470 DOI: 10.1093/jambio/lxad219
    AIMS: This study aimed to investigate the effect of palm oil mill effluent (POME) final discharge on the active bacterial composition, gene expression, and metabolite profiles in the receiving rivers to establish a foundation for identifying potential biomarkers for monitoring POME pollution in rivers.

    METHODS AND RESULTS: The POME final discharge, upstream (unpolluted by POME), and downstream (effluent receiving point) parts of the rivers from two sites were physicochemically characterized. The taxonomic and gene profiles were then evaluated using de novo metatranscriptomics, while the metabolites were detected using qualitative metabolomics. A similar bacterial community structure in the POME final discharge samples from both sites was recorded, but their composition varied. Redundancy analysis showed that several families, particularly Comamonadaceae and Burkholderiaceae [Pr(>F) = 0.028], were positively correlated with biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The results also showed significant enrichment of genes regulating various metabolisms in the POME-receiving rivers, with methane, carbon fixation pathway, and amino acids among the predominant metabolisms identified (FDR  4, and PPDE > 0.95). This was further validated through qualitative metabolomics, whereby amino acids were detected as the predominant metabolites.

    CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that genes regulating amino acid metabolism have significant potential for developing effective biomonitoring and bioremediation strategies in river water influenced by POME final discharge, fostering a sustainable palm oil industry.

  14. Antibacterial mechanism of Pseudomonas aeruginosa UKMP14T rhamnolipids against multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii
    Firdose A, Maeda T, Sukri MAM, Yasin NHM, Sabturani N, Aqma WS
    Microb Pathog, 2024 Aug;193:106743.
    PMID: 38879138 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2024.106743
    Rhamnolipids, a major category of glycolipid biosurfactant, have recently gained enormous attention in medical field because of their relevance as effective antibacterial agents against a wide variety of pathogenic bacteria. Our previous studies have shown that rhamnolipids from an environmental isolate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa UKMP14T possess antibacterial, anti-adhesive and anti-biofilm activity against multidrug-resistant ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter sp.) pathogens. However, the mechanism of their antibacterial action remains unclear. Thus, this study aimed to elucidate the mechanism of the antibacterial action of P. aeruginosa UKMP14T rhamnolipids by studying the changes in cells of one of the ESKAPE pathogens, Acinetobacter baumannii, which is the most difficult strain to kill. Results revealed that rhamnolipid treatment rendered A. baumannii cells more hydrophobic as evaluated through contact angle measurements. It also induced the release of cellular proteins measuring 510 μg/mL at a rhamnolipid concentration of 1000 μg/mL. In addition, rhamnolipids were found to be bactericidal in their action as they could permeate the inner membranes, leading to a leak-out of nucleotides. More than 50 % of the cells were found to be killed upon 1000 μg/mL rhamnolipid treatment as observed through fluorescence microscopy. Other cellular changes such as irregular shape and size, membrane perturbations, clumping, shrinkage and physical damage were clearly visible in SEM, FESEM and laser micrographs. Furthermore, rhamnolipid treatment inhibited the levels of acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) in A. baumannii, which are vital for their biofilm formation and virulence. The obtained results indicate that P. aeruginosa UKMP14T rhamnolipids target outer and inner bacterial membranes through permeation, including physical damage to the cells, leading to cell leakage. Furthermore, AHL inhibition appears to be the mechanism behind their anti-biofilm action. All these observations can be correlated to rhamnolipids' antibacterial effect against A. baumannii.
  15. Pyrosequencing analysis of microbial community and food-borne bacteria on restaurant cutting boards collected in Seri Kembangan, Malaysia, and their correlation with grades of food premises
    Abdul-Mutalib NA, Amin Nordin S, Osman M, Ishida N, Tashiro K, Sakai K, et al.
    Int J Food Microbiol, 2015 May 4;200:57-65.
    PMID: 25679309 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2015.01.022
    This study adopts the pyrosequencing technique to identify bacteria present on 26 kitchen cutting boards collected from different grades of food premises around Seri Kembangan, a city in Malaysia. Pyrosequencing generated 452,401 of total reads of OTUs with an average of 1.4×10(7) bacterial cells/cm(2). Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroides were identified as the most abundant phyla in the samples. Taxonomic richness was generally high with >1000 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) observed across all samples. The highest appearance frequencies (100%) were OTUs closely related to Enterobacter sp., Enterobacter aerogenes, Pseudomonas sp. and Pseudomonas putida. Several OTUs were identified most closely related to known food-borne pathogens, including Bacillus cereus, Cronobacter sakazaki, Cronobacter turisensis, Escherichia coli, E. coli O157:H7, Hafnia alvei, Kurthia gibsonii, Salmonella bongori, Salmonella enterica, Salmonella paratyphi, Salmonella tyhpi, Salmonella typhimurium and Yersinia enterocolitica ranging from 0.005% to 0.68% relative abundance. The condition and grade of the food premises on a three point cleanliness scale did not correlate with the bacterial abundance and type. Regardless of the status and grades, all food premises have the same likelihood to introduce food-borne bacteria from cutting boards to their foods and must always prioritize the correct food handling procedure in order to avoid unwanted outbreak of food-borne illnesses.
  16. Fulltext Co-visualization of DNA damage and ion traversals in live mammalian cells using a fluorescent nuclear track detector
    Kodaira S, Konishi T, Kobayashi A, Maeda T, Ahmad TA, Yang G, et al.
    J Radiat Res, 2015 Mar;56(2):360-5.
    PMID: 25324538 DOI: 10.1093/jrr/rru091
    The geometric locations of ion traversals in mammalian cells constitute important information in the study of heavy ion-induced biological effect. Single ion traversal through a cellular nucleus produces complex and massive DNA damage at a nanometer level, leading to cell inactivation, mutations and transformation. We present a novel approach that uses a fluorescent nuclear track detector (FNTD) for the simultaneous detection of the geometrical images of ion traversals and DNA damage in single cells using confocal microscopy. HT1080 or HT1080-53BP1-GFP cells were cultured on the surface of a FNTD and exposed to 5.1-MeV/n neon ions. The positions of the ion traversals were obtained as fluorescent images of a FNTD. Localized DNA damage in cells was identified as fluorescent spots of γ-H2AX or 53BP1-GFP. These track images and images of damaged DNA were obtained in a short time using a confocal laser scanning microscope. The geometrical distribution of DNA damage indicated by fluorescent γ-H2AX spots in fixed cells or fluorescent 53BP1-GFP spots in living cells was found to correlate well with the distribution of the ion traversals. This method will be useful for evaluating the number of ion hits on individual cells, not only for micro-beam but also for random-beam experiments.
  17. Fulltext Dynamics of Microbial Populations Responsible for Biodegradation during the Full-Scale Treatment of Palm Oil Mill Effluent
    Mohd-Nor D, Ramli N, Sharuddin SS, Hassan MA, Mustapha NA, Ariffin H, et al.
    Microbes Environ, 2019 Jun 27;34(2):121-128.
    PMID: 30905894 DOI: 10.1264/jsme2.ME18104
    Despite efforts to address the composition of the microbial community during the anaerobic treatment of palm oil mill effluent (POME), its composition in relation to biodegradation in the full-scale treatment system has not yet been extensively examined. Therefore, a thorough analysis of bacterial and archaeal communities was performed in the present study using MiSeq sequencing at the different stages of the POME treatment, which comprised anaerobic as well as facultative anaerobic and aerobic processes, including the mixed raw effluent (MRE), mixing pond, holding tank, and final discharge phases. Based on the results obtained, the following biodegradation processes were suggested to occur at the different treatment stages: (1) Lactobacillaceae (35.9%) dominated the first stage, which contributed to high lactic acid production; (2) the higher population of Clostridiaceae in the mixing pond (47.7%) and Prevotellaceae in the holding tank (49.7%) promoted acetic acid production; (3) the aceticlastic methanogen Methanosaetaceae (0.6-0.8%) played a role in acetic acid degradation in the open digester and closed reactor for methane generation; (4) Syntrophomonas (21.5-29.2%) appeared to be involved in the degradation of fatty acids and acetic acid by syntrophic cooperation with the hydrogenotrophic methanogen, Methanobacteriaceae (0.6-1.3%); and (5) the phenols and alcohols detected in the early phases, but not in the final discharge phase, indicated the successful degradation of lignocellulosic materials. The present results contribute to a better understanding of the biodegradation mechanisms involved in the different stages of the full-scale treatment of POME.
  18. Fulltext Whole genome sequencing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates from Terengganu, Malaysia, indicates the predominance of the EMRSA-15 (ST22-SCCmec IV) clone
    Che Hamzah AM, Chew CH, Al-Trad EI, Puah SM, Chua KH, A Rahman NI, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2024 Feb 12;14(1):3485.
    PMID: 38347106 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54182-x
    Despite the importance of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as a priority nosocomial pathogen, the genome sequences of Malaysian MRSA isolates are currently limited to a small pool of samples. Here, we present the genome sequence analyses of 88 clinical MRSA isolates obtained from the main tertiary hospital in Terengganu, Malaysia in 2016-2020, to obtain in-depth insights into their characteristics. The EMRSA-15 (ST22-SCCmec IV) clone of the clonal complex 22 (CC22) lineage was predominant with a total of 61 (69.3%) isolates. Earlier reports from other Malaysian hospitals indicated the predominance of the ST239 clone, but only two (2.3%) isolates were identified in this study. Two Indian-origin clones, the Bengal Bay clone ST772-SCCmec V (n = 2) and ST672 (n = 10) were also detected, with most of the ST672 isolates obtained in 2020 (n = 7). Two new STs were found, with one isolate each, and were designated ST7879 and ST7883. From the core genome phylogenetic tree, the HSNZ MRSA isolates could be grouped into seven clades. Antimicrobial phenotype-genotype concordance was high (> 95%), indicating the accuracy of WGS in predicting most resistances. Majority of the MRSA isolates were found to harbor more than 10 virulence genes, demonstrating their pathogenic nature.
  19. Antibiotic susceptibility and molecular epidemiology of Panton-Valentine leukocidin-positive meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: An international survey
    Macedo-Viñas M, Conly J, Francois P, Aschbacher R, Blanc DS, Coombs G, et al.
    J Glob Antimicrob Resist, 2014 Mar;2(1):43-47.
    PMID: 27873637 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgar.2013.08.003
    The antibiotic susceptibility and molecular epidemiology of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL)-positive meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates reported from 17 countries in the Americas, Europe and, Australia-Asia were analysed. Among a total of 3236 non-duplicate isolates, the lowest susceptibility was observed to erythromycin in all regions. Susceptibility to ciprofloxacin showed large variation (25%, 75% and 84% in the Americas, Europe and Australia-Asia, respectively). Two vancomycin-intermediate PVL-positive MRSA isolates were reported, one from Hong Kong and the other from The Netherlands. Resistance to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and linezolid was <1%. Among 1798 MRSA isolates from 13 countries that were tested for the requested 10 non-β-lactam antibiotics, 49.4% were multisusceptible. However, multiresistant isolates (resistant to at least three classes of non-β-lactam antibiotics) were reported from all regions. Sequence type 30 (ST30) was reported worldwide, whereas ST80 and ST93 were exclusive to Europe and Australia, respectively. USA300 and related clones (ST8) are progressively replacing the ST80 clone in several European countries. Eight major clusters were discriminated by multilocus variable-number tandem repeat assay (MLVA), showing a certain geographic specificity. PVL-positive MRSA isolates frequently remain multisusceptible to non-β-lactam agents, but multiresistance is already prevalent in all regions. Surveillance of MRSA susceptibility patterns should be monitored to provide clinicians with the most current information regarding changes in resistance patterns.
  20. Fulltext Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)
    Klionsky DJ, Abdelmohsen K, Abe A, Abedin MJ, Abeliovich H, Acevedo Arozena A, et al.
    Autophagy, 2016;12(1):1-222.
    PMID: 26799652 DOI: 10.1080/15548627.2015.1100356
Related Terms
    Try searching for something
Filters
Contact Us

Please provide feedback to Administrator (afdal@afpm.org.my)

External Links