A polyphasic approach to study the dynamics of microbial population of an organic wheat sourdough during its conversion to gluten-free sourdough

To develop a method for organic gluten-free (GF) sourdough bread production, a long-term and original wheat sourdough was refreshed with GF flours. The dynamics of the sourdough microbiota during five months of back-slopping were analyzed by classical enumeration and molecular methods, including PCR-temporal temperature gel electrophoresis (PCR-TTGE), multiplex PCR, and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The results showed that the yeast counts remained constant, although Saccharomyces cerevisiae, present in the initial wheat sourdough, was no longer detected in the GF sourdough, while lactic acid bacteria (LAB) counts increased consistently. In the first phase, which was aimed at obtaining a GF sourdough from wheat sourdough, Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis, L. plantarum, and L. spicheri were the main LAB species detected. During the second phase, aimed at maintaining the GF sourdough, the L. plantarum and L. spicheri populations decreased whereas L. sanfranciscensis persisted and L. sakei became the predominant species. Multiplex PCRs also revealed the presence of several L. sakei strains in the GF sourdough. In a search for the origin of the LAB species, PCR-TTGE was performed on the flour samples but only L. sanfranciscensis was detected, suggesting a flour origin for this typical sourdough species. Thus, while replacement of the wheat flour by GF flour influenced the sourdough microbiota, some of the original sourdough LAB and yeast species remained in the GF sourdough. [Int Microbiol 2014; 17(1):1-9]Keywords: Lactobacillus spp. · Saccharomyces · Candida ·  sourdough · gluten-free food · organic · lactic acid bacteria · yeas

Functional abdominal pain disorders and patient- and parent- reported outcomes in children with inflammatory bowel disease in remission

BACKGROUND: Chronic abdominal pain occurs frequently in pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in remission. AIMS: To assess the prevalence and factors associated with Functional Abdominal Pain Disorders among IBD children in remission (IBD-FAPD). METHODS: Patients with IBD for > 1 year, in clinical remission for ≥ 3 months were recruited from a National IBD network. IBD-FAPDs were assessed using the Rome III questionnaire criteria. Patient- or parent- reported outcomes were assessed. RESULTS: Among 102 included patients, 57 (56%) were boys, mean age (DS) was 15.0 (± 2.0) years and 75 (74%) had Crohn's disease. Twenty-two patients (22%) had at least one Functional Gastrointestinal Disorder among which 17 had at least one IBD-FAPD. Past severity of disease or treatments received and level of remission were not significantly associated with IBD-FAPD. Patients with IBD-FAPD reported more fatigue (peds-FACIT-F: 35.9 ± 9.8 vs. 43.0 ± 6.9, p = 0.01) and a lower HR-QoL (IMPACT III: 76.5 ± 9.6 vs. 81.6 ± 9.2, p = 0.04) than patients without FAPD, and their parents had higher levels of State and Trait anxiety than the other parents. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of IBD-FAPD was 17%. IBD-FAPD was not associated with past severity of disease, but with fatigue and lower HR-QoL

Heme Uptake in Lactobacillus sakei Evidenced by a New Energy Coupling Factor (ECF)-Like Transport System

International audienceLactobacillus sakei is a non-pathogenic lactic acid bacterium and a natural inhabitant of meat ecosystems. Although red meat is a heme-rich environment, L. sakei does not need iron or heme for growth, while possessing a heme-dependent catalase. Iron incorporation into L. sakei from myoglobin and hemoglobin was formerly shown by microscopy and the L. sakei genome reveals the complete equipment for iron and heme transport. Here, we report the characterization of a five-gene cluster (lsa1836-1840) encoding a putative metal iron ABC transporter. Interestingly, this cluster, together with a heme dependent catalase gene, is also conserved in other species from the meat ecosystem. Our bioinformatic analyses revealed that the locus might correspond to a complete machinery of an Energy Coupling Factor (ECF) transport system. We quantified in vitro the intracellular heme in wild-type (WT) and in our Δlsa1836-1840 deletion mutant using an intracellular heme sensor and ICP-Mass spectrometry for quantifying incorporated 57Fe heme. We showed that in the WT L. sakei, heme accumulation occurs rapidly and massively in the presence of hemin, while the deletion mutant was impaired in heme uptake; this ability was restored by in trans complementation. Our results establish the main role of the L. sakei Lsa1836-1840 ECF-like system in heme uptake. Therefore, this research outcome sheds new light on other possible functions of ECF-like systems.Importance Lactobacillus sakei is a non-pathogenic bacterial species exhibiting high fitness in heme rich environments such as meat products, although it does not need iron nor heme for growth. Heme capture and utilization capacities are often associated with pathogenic species and are considered as virulence-associated factors in the infected hosts. For these reasons, iron acquisition systems have been deeply studied in such species, while for non-pathogenic bacteria the information is scarce. Genomic data revealed that several putative iron transporters are present in the genome of the lactic acid bacterium L. sakei. In this study, we demonstrate that one of them, is an ECF-like ABC transporter with a functional role in heme transport. Such evidence has not yet been brought for an ECF, therefore our study reveals a new class of heme transport system

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and School Absenteeism

International audienceObjectives - Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are chronic diseases which negatively affect the schooling of children. The aim is to analyze school absenteeism and its causes in children followed for IBD. Methods - A prospective multicenter study of IBD patients aged from 5 to 18 years old, from September 2016 to June 2017. Data on absenteeism and its causes were collected via a monthly questionnaire completed by patients or their family by mail. The results were compared with existing data supplied by the school authorities (497 students without IBD divided by class). Results - A total of 106 patients (62 boys), median age of 14 (5-18), were included. The global response rate was 83.1%. The patients with IBD were absent an average of 4.8% ± 5.5% of school days during the school year, against 3.2% ± 1.6% for non IBD group (P = 0.034). Digestive disorders accounted for 34% of the causes of absenteeism. Approximately 27% of the absences were due to scheduled events (hospitalizations, endoscopy, or consultations). By excluding the absences for scheduled care, the rate of school absenteeism of patients with IBD is significantly lower than that of non-IBD group. Conclusion - Children with IBD are more frequently absent from school than non-IBD group. The main cause of school absenteeism appears to be associated with the disease itself. The share of scheduled absenteeism is quite large. The organization and scheduling of the patients' care path must be a priority to maximally limit the negative impact of their disease on the patients' schooling

A polyphasic approach to study the dynamics of microbial population of an organic wheat sourdough during its conversion to gluten-free sourdough

To develop a method for organic gluten-free (GF) sourdough bread production, a long-term and original wheat sourdough was refreshed with GF flours. The dynamics of the sourdough microbiota during five months of back-slopping were analyzed by classical enumeration and molecular methods, including PCR-temporal temperature gel electrophoresis (PCR-TTGE), multiplex PCR, and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The results showed that the yeast counts remained constant, although Saccharomyces cerevisiae, present in the initial wheat sourdough, was no longer detected in the GF sourdough, while lactic acid bacteria (LAB) counts increased consistently. In the first phase, which was aimed at obtaining a GF sourdough from wheat sourdough, Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis, L. plantarum, and L. spicheri were the main LAB species detected. During the second phase, aimed at maintaining the GF sourdough, the L. plantarum and L. spicheri populations decreased whereas L. sanfranciscensis persisted and L. sakei became the predominant species. Multiplex PCRs also revealed the presence of several L. sakei strains in the GF sourdough. In a search for the origin of the LAB species, PCR-TTGE was performed on the flour samples but only L. sanfranciscensis was detected, suggesting a flour origin for this typical sourdough species. Thus, while replacement of the wheat flour by GF flour influenced the sourdough microbiota, some of the original sourdough LAB and yeast species remained in the GF sourdough. [Int Microbiol 2014; 17(1):1-9

Vaccination coverage of children with inflammatory bowel disease after an awareness campaign on the risk of infection

International audienceBACKGROUND: Children with inflammatory bowel disease are at risk of vaccine-preventable diseases mostly due to immunosuppressive drugs. AIM: To evaluate coverage after an awareness campaign informing patients, their parents and general practitioner about the vaccination schedule. METHODS: Vaccination coverage was firstly evaluated and followed by an awareness campaign on the risk of infection via postal mail. The trial is a case-control study on the same patients before and after the awareness campaign. Overall, 92 children were included. A questionnaire was then completed during a routine appointment to collect data including age at diagnosis, age at data collection, treatment history, and vaccination status. RESULTS: Vaccination rates significantly increased for vaccines against diphtheria-tetanus-poliomyelitis (92% vs. 100%), Haemophilus influenzae (88% vs. 98%), hepatitis B (52% vs. 71%), pneumococcus (36% vs. 57%), and meningococcus C (17% vs. 41%) (p\textless0.05). Children who were older at diagnosis were 1.26 times more likely to be up-to-date with a minimum vaccination schedule (diphtheria-tetanus-poliomyelitis, pertussis, H. influenzae, measles-mumps-rubella, tuberculosis) (p=0.002). CONCLUSION: Informing inflammatory bowel disease patients, their parents and general practitioner about the vaccination schedule via postal mail is easy, inexpensive, reproducible, and increases vaccination coverage. This method reinforces information on the risk of infection during routine visit

Interactions entre Staphylococcus xylosus et Lactobacillus sakei dans une matrice «saucisson» modèle

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Large-scale multivariate dataset on the characterization of microbiota diversity, microbial growth dynamics, metabolic spoilage volatilome and sensorial profiles of two industrially produced meat products subjected to changes in lactate concentration and packaging atmosphere

International audienceData in this article provide detailed information on the diversity of bacterial communities present on 576 samples of raw pork or poultry sausages produced industrially in 2017. Bacterial growth dynamics and diversity were monitored throughout the refrigerated storage period to estimate the impact of packaging atmosphere and the use of potassium lactate as chemical preservative. The data include several types of analysis aiming at providing a comprehensive microbial ecology of spoilage during storage and how the process parameters do influence this phenomenon. The analysis includes: the gas content in packaging, pH, chromametric measurements, plate counts (total mesophilic aerobic flora and lactic acid bacteria), sensorial properties of the products, meta-metabolomic quantification of volatile organic compounds and bacterial community metagenetic analysis. Bacterial diversity was monitored using two types of amplicon sequencing (16S rRNA and GyrB encoding genes) at different time points for the different conditions (576 samples for gyrB and 436 samples for 16S rDNA). Sequencing data were generated by using Illumina MiSeq. The sequencing data have been deposited in the bioproject PRJNA522361. Samples accession numbers vary from SAMN10964863 to SAMN10965438 for gyrB amplicon and from SAMN10970131 to SAMN10970566 for 16S