Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are the third-largest solid component of milk. Their structural complexity renders them nondigestible to the host but liable to hydrolytic enzymes of the infant colonic microbiota. Bifidobacteria and, frequently, Bifidobacterium longum strains predominate the colonic microbiota of exclusively breast-fed infants. Among the three recognized subspecies of B. long...

Johne's disease (JD) infection, caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis, represents a major disease problem in farmed ruminants. Although JD has been well characterized in cattle and sheep, little is known of the infection dynamics or immunological response in deer. In this study, typing of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis isolates from intestinal lymphatic tissues from 74 JD-infe...

The plant-pathogenic bacterium Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri is the causal agent of Asiatic citrus canker, a serious disease that affects all the cultivars of citrus in subtropical citrus-producing areas worldwide. There is no curative treatment for citrus canker; thus, the eradication of infected plants constitutes the only effective control of the spread of X. citri subsp. citri. Since the e...

Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and L. delbrueckii subsp. lactis are both used in the dairy industry as homofermentative lactic acid bacteria in the production of fermented milk products. After selective pressure for the fast fermentation of milk in the manufacture of yogurts, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus loses its ability to regulate lac operon expression. A series of mutations...

Stigma of Crocus sativus L. (Iridaceae), commonly known as saffron, is the world’s most expensive spice and apart from its traditional value as food additive recent studies indicate its potential as antidepressant. Because saffron is expensive, using it daily to address depression may not be practical. Moreover, recent study indicated antidepressant effect of petal of Crocus sativus. As petal o...

It was found by using spectrophotometric, spectrofluorometric, and high-pressure liquid chromatography that four subspecies of Bacillus thuringiensis produce coproporphyrin. The porphyrin isomer was identified as coproporphyrin I for B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki (HD1). The porphyrin was isolated both from spores and from a variety of spent growth media. The quantity of porphyrin released by...

The cross-reactivity of mycobacterial antigens in immune-based diagnostic assays has been a major concern and a criticism of the current tests that are used for the detection of paratuberculosis. In the present study, Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis recombinant proteins were evaluated for antigenic specificity compared to a whole-cell sonicate preparation (MPS). Measures of cell-med...

Using a modified multilocus sequence typing (MLST) scheme for the bacterial plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa based on the same seven housekeeping genes employed in a previously published MLST, we studied the genetic diversity of two subspecies, X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa and X. fastidiosa subsp. sandyi, which cause Pierce's disease and oleander leaf scorch, respectively. Typing of 85 U.S....

Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. brasiliense is a newly identified member of the potato soft rot enterobacteriaceae. The pathogenesis of this pathogen is still poorly understood. In this study, an mCherry-P. carotovorum subsp. brasiliense-tagged strain was generated to study P. carotovorum subsp. brasiliense-potato plant interactions. Prior to use, the tagged strain was evaluated for in vitro ...

BACKGROUND Cadmium (Cd) is known to cause various disorders in the testis. The general population may be exposed to Cd through ingestion of food and drinking water, inhalation of particulates from ambient air, tobacco smoke and ingestion of contaminated soil and dust. Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is widely used as a food flavour, and has well known medicinal effects. OBJECTIVES The aim of this...