1,721,133 research outputs found
Linking environmental pollution and gut microbiota in individuals living in contaminated settlements
No full textStudy of the influence of environmental pollution on the gut microbiome composition and functionality in a highly polluted area (Terra dei Fuochi, Campania, Italy
Modulation of the gut microbiome through diet for a healthy living
No full textInfluence of habitual diet on the gut microbiome and inter-connections with human healt
RNA-based study of the microbiome of an Italian pasta-filata cheese during manufacture and ripening
No full textStudio di ecologia microbica durante la maturazione di un formaggio a pasta filata
A comparison of bioinformatics pipelines for the analysis of 16S metagenomics data of food microbial communities
No full textStrain-level diversity analysis of Pseudomonas fragi after in situ pangenome reconstruction shows distinctive spoilage-associated metabolic traits clearly selected by different storage conditions
No full textMicrobial spoilage of raw meat causes huge economic losses every year. Understanding the microbial ecology associated to the spoilage and its dynamics during refrigerated storage of meat can help in preventing and delaying the spoilage-related activities. Raw meat microbiota is usually complex but only few members will develop during storage and cause spoilage, upon the pressure of several external factors, such as temperature and oxygen availability. We characterized the metagenome of beef packed aerobically or under-vacuum during refrigerated storage to explore how different packaging conditions may influence microbial composition and potential spoilage-associated activities. Different population dynamics and spoilage-associated genomic repertoires occurred in beef stored in air or vacuum-packaging. Moreover, pangenomics of Pseudomonas fragi strains extracted from metagenomes was carried out. We demonstrated the presence of specific, storage-driven strain-level profiles of Pseudomonas fragi, characterized by a different gene repertoire, thus potentially able to act differently during meat spoilage. The results provide new knowledge on strain-level microbial ecology associated to meat spoilage and can be of value for future strategies of spoilage prevention and food waste reduction.IMPORTANCE This work provides insights on the mechanisms involved in raw beef spoilage during refrigerated storage and on the selective pressure exerted by the packaging conditions. We highlighted the presence of different microbial metagenomes during spoilage of beef packaged aerobically or under-vacuum. The packaging condition was able to select specific Pseudomonas fragi strains, with a distinctive genomic repertoire. This study may help in deciphering the behaviour of different biomes directly in-situ in food and in understanding the specific contribution of different strains to food spoilage
Omics-based monitoring of microbial dynamics across the food chain for the improvement of food safety and quality
Full text linkThe diffusion of high-throughput sequencing has dramatically changed the study of food microbial ecology. Amplicon-based description of the microbial community may be routinary implemented in the food industry to understand how the processing parameters and the raw material quality may affect the microbial community of the final product, as well as how the community changes during the shelf-life. In addition, application of shotgun metagenomics may represent an invaluable resource to understand the functional potential of the microbial community, identifying the presence of spoilage-associated activities or genes related to pathogenesis. Finally, retrieving Metagenome-Assembled Genomes (MAGs) of relevant species may be useful for strain-tracking along the food chain and in case of food poisoning outbreaks.
This review gives an overview of the possible applications of sequencing-based approaches in the study of food microbial ecology, highlighting limitations that still prevent the spreading of these techniques to the food industry
Activities of strains of Brochothrix thermosphacta in vitro and in meat
No full textNinety three isolates of Brochothrix spp. from raw meat were analysed by PCR-based molecular fingerprinting and identified by species-specific Real-Time (RTi)-PCR and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Thirty three strains were characterized for their growth capability in sarcoplasmic extract with and without glucose, for in vitro lipolytic activity, in vitro and in situ (in beef) proteolytic activity and for amino-decarboxylase activity. Moreover, spoilage potential of seven selected strains in sterile and non-sterile meat was investigated by analyzing the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during storage in air. All the strains analysed were unable to hydrolyze sarcoplasmic proteins in vitro and in situ and they did not show lipolytic activity at 4. °C or 20. °C. Almost all were able to grow in the presence of sarcoplasmic extract with glucose and produced histamine. The release of VOCs by each strain in sterile and non sterile beef stored at 4. °C in air was evaluated by HS-SPME-GC/MS analysis. Acetoin and 1-octen-3-ol and 3-methyl-1-butanol were the major compounds isolated from sterile and non-sterile meat samples inoculated with single strains of Brochothrix (B.) thermosphacta and high concentration of acetoin was found in all inoculated meat samples. The role of B. thermosphacta as meat spoiler does not seem to be influenced by indigenous microbiota of meat while its development in meat is associated to a significant increase (P. <. 0.05) of acetoin and other compounds recognized as important contributors to the spoilage of meat and meat products
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