Primjena novih metoda kontrole patogenih oblika bakterije Escherichia coli

Among foodborne pathogens, diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli is of major concern because of its commensal status, abundance in the natural environment, and ability to acquire virulence determinants by horizontal gene transfer from other microbes. From enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) strains to the more virulent enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), the mechanisms of pathogenicity within this species are intriguing. Recent advances in molecular diagnostics are providing novel tools for improved rapid detection and quantification of this and other pathogenic bacteria from clinical, food, and environmental specimens. These include simple and inexpensive colorimetric and immunological methods to more elaborate nucleic acid-based assays that combine extreme specificity to unparalleled sensitivity and high sample throughput. This review summarizes the current state of E. coli pathogenesis with emphasis on the need for incorporating detection and surveillance tools as part of pre- and post-harvest food safety ideals.Patogena bakterija Escherichia coli, koja uzrokuje dijareju, najopasniji je patogeni mikroorganizam u hrani zbog svoje rasprostranjenosti u prirodnom okolišu i sposobnosti prisvajanja virulentnosti horizontalnim transferom gena iz drugih mikroba. Mehanizmi njezine patogenosti su intrigantni, počevši od enterotoksigenog soja E. coli (ETEC) pa sve do virulentnijeg eneterohemoragijskog soja (EHES). Napredak u molekularnoj dijagnostici doveo je do razvoja novih metoda brzog određivanja prisutnosti i broja te bakterije i sličnih patogenih bakterija u kliničkim uzorcima, hrani i okolišu. U tu svrhu mogu se primijeniti jednostavne i jeftine kolorimetrijske i imunološke metode ili kompliciranije metode dokazivanja nukleinskih kiselina koje su vrlo specifične i osjetljive pa se pomoću njih može analizirati veliki broj uzoraka. Ovaj revijalni prikaz donosi pregled patogeneze E. coli, a ističe nužnost određivanja njezine prisutnosti te nadzor prije i nakon žetve radi procjene zdravstvene ispravnosti hrane

The Need and New Tools for Surveillance of Escherichia coli Pathogens

Among foodborne pathogens, diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli is of major concern because of its commensal status, abundance in the natural environment, and ability to acquire virulence determinants by horizontal gene transfer from other microbes. From enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) strains to the more virulent enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), the mechanisms of pathogenicity within this species are intriguing. Recent advances in molecular diagnostics are providing novel tools for improved rapid detection and quantification of this and other pathogenic bacteria from clinical, food, and environmental specimens. These include simple and inexpensive colorimetric and immunological methods to more elaborate nucleic acid-based assays that combine extreme specificity to unparalleled sensitivity and high sample throughput. This review summarizes the current state of E. coli pathogenesis with emphasis on the need for incorporating detection and surveillance tools as part of pre- and post-harvest food safety ideals

<i>In silico</i> modeling and experimental evidence of coagulant protein interaction with precursors for nanoparticle functionalization

<div><p>The design of novel protein–nanoparticle hybrid systems has applications in many fields of science ranging from biomedicine, catalysis, water treatment, etc. The main barrier in devising such tool is lack of adequate information or poor understanding of protein–ligand chemistry. Here, we establish a new strategy based on computational modeling for protein and precursor linkers that can decorate the nanoparticles. <i>Moringa oleifera</i> (MO_2.1) seed protein that has coagulation and antimicrobial properties was used. Superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SPION) with precursor ligands were used for the protein–ligand interaction studies. The molecular docking studies reveal that there are two binding sites, one is located at the core binding site; tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) or 3-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane (APTES) binds to this site while the other one is located at the side chain residues where trisodium citrate (TSC) or Si₆₀ binds to this site. The protein–ligand distance profile analysis explains the differences in functional activity of the decorated SPION. Experimentally, TSC-coated nanoparticles showed higher coagulation activity as compared to TEOS- and APTES-coated SPION. To our knowledge, this is the first report on <i>in vitro</i> experimental data, which endorses the computational modeling studies as a powerful tool to design novel precursors for functionalization of nanomaterials; and develop interface hybrid systems for various applications.</p> </div