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Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) exert antagonistic activities against diverse microorganisms, including pathogens. In this work, we aimed to investigate the ability of LAB strains isolated from food to produce biofilms and to inhibit growth and surface colonization of Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 at 10°C. The ability of 100 isolated LAB to inhibit EHEC O157:H7 NCTC12900 growth was evaluated in agar diffusion assays. Thirty-seven LAB strains showed strong growth inhibitory effect on EHEC. The highest inhibitory activities corresponded to LAB strains belonging to Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Pediococcus acidilactici and Pediococcus pentosaceus species. Eighteen out of the 37 strains that showed growth inhibitory effects on EHEC also had the ability to form biofilms on polystyrene surfaces at 10°C and 30°C. Pre-established biofilms on polystyrene of four of these LAB strains were able to reduce significantly surface colonization by EHEC at low temperature (10°C). Among these four strains, Lact. plantarum CRL 1075 not only inhibited EHEC but also was able to grow in the presence of the enteric pathogen. Therefore, this strain proved to be a good candidate for further technological studies oriented to its application in food-processing environments to mitigate undesirable surface contaminations of E. coli.

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Bacterial adhesion is the first and a significant step in establishing infection. This adhesion normally occurs in the presence of flow of fluids. Therefore, bacterial adhesins must be able to provide high strength interactions with their target surface in order to maintain the adhered bacteria under hydromechanical stressing conditions. In the case of B. pertussis, a Gram-negative bacterium responsible for pertussis, a highly contagious human respiratory tract infection, an important protein participating in the adhesion process is a 220 kDa adhesin named filamentous haemagglutinin (FHA), an outer membrane and also secreted protein that contains recognition domains to adhere to ciliated respiratory epithelial cells and macrophages. In this work, we obtained information on the cell-surface localization and distribution of the B. pertussis adhesin FHA using an antibody-functionalized AFM tip. Through the analysis of specific molecular recognition events we built a map of the spatial distribution of the adhesin which revealed a non-homogeneous pattern. Moreover, our experiments showed a force induced reorganization of the adhesin on the surface of the cells, which could explain a reinforced adhesive response under external forces. This single-molecule information contributes to the understanding of basic molecular mechanisms used by bacterial pathogens to cause infectious disease and to gain insights into the structural features by which adhesins can act as force sensors under mechanical shear conditions.

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Adherence to a biological surface allows bacteria to colonize and persist within the host and represents an essential first step in the pathogenesis of most bacterial diseases. Consequently, the physicochemical properties of the outer membrane in bacteria play a key role for attachment to surfaces and therefore for biofilm formation. Bordetella pertussis is a Gram-negative bacterium that colonizes the respiratory tract of humans, producing whooping cough or pertussis, a highly infectious disease. B. pertussis uses various adhesins exposed on its surface to promote cell-surface and cell-cell interactions. The most dominant adhesin function is displayed by filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA). B. pertussis Tohama I wild-type (Vir+) strain and two defective mutants, an avirulent (Vir-) and a FHA-deficient (FHA-) B. pertussis strains were studied by AFM under physiological conditions to evaluate how the presence or absence of adhesins affects the mechanical properties of the B. pertussis cell surface. Quantitative information on the nanomechanical properties of the bacterial envelope was obtained by AFM force-volume analysis. These studies suggested that the presence of virulence factors is correlated with an increase in the average membrane rigidity, which is largely influenced by the presence of FHA. Moreover, for this system we built a nanoscale stiffness map that reveals an inhomogeneous spatial distribution of Young modulus as well as the presence of rigid nanodomains on the cell surface.

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In a previous study we determined that by-products of Lactobacillus plantarum inhibited pathogenicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and is effective in the treatment of infected wounds. This study assesses the cytotoxic activity of acetic acid (AA), supernatants of L. plantarum and P. aeruginosa, with and without signal acyl-homoserine-lactones (AHL), and mixtures of both bacterial supernatants on human neutrophils. Cytotoxicity was determined through viability using trypan blue, apoptosis by Annexin V, necrosis by propidium iodide and intracellular pH by SNARF-1. We found that supernatants of L. plantarum caused less cytotoxicity than AA at the same extracellular pH (p<0.05). P. aeruginosa induced a remarkable drop in intracellular pH, which was independent of extracellular pH. This intracellular acidity was correlated with a significant decrease in viability and was higher than supernatants of AHL producing P. aeruginosa (p<0.05). When supernatants were mixed, the quantity of AHL diminished (p<0.001) and the cytotoxic effect induced by P.aeruginosa was ameliorated by L. plantarum supernatant (p<0.001 vs p<0.01). These results are in agreement with the inflammatory in vivo assays determined by intradermal inoculations in Balb/c mice. Our findings will be useful for the formulation of effective and inexpensive products to resolve infected chronic wounds in our hospitals.

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Although Bordetella pertussis, the etiologic agent of whooping cough, adheres and grows on the ciliated epithelium of the respiratory tract, it has been extensively studied only in liquid cultures. In this work, the phenotypic expression of B. pertussis in biofilm growth is described as a first approximation of events that may occur in the colonization of the host. The biofilm developed on polypropylene beads was monitored by chemical methods and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Analysis of cell envelopes revealed minimal differences in outer membrane protein (OMP) pattern and no variation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) expression in biofilm compared with planktonically grown cells. Sessile cells exhibited a 2.4- to 3.0-fold higher carbohydrate/protein ratio compared with different types of planktonic cells. A 1.8-fold increased polysaccharide content with significantly increased hydrophilic characteristics was observed. FT-IR spectra of the biofilm cells showed higher intensity in the absorption bands assigned to polysaccharides (1,200-900 cm(-1) region) and vibrational modes of carboxylate groups (1,627, 1,405, and 1,373 cm(-1)) compared with the spectra of planktonic cells. In the biofilm matrix, uronic-acid-containing polysaccharides, proteins, and LPS were detected. The production of extracellular carbohydrates during biofilm growth was not associated with changes in the specific growth rate, growth phase, or oxygen limitation. It could represent an additional virulence factor that may help B. pertussis to evade host defenses.

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Intra-specific diversity within Moraxella bovis was investigated analysing DNA fingerprints, outer membrane proteins (OMP) and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) profiles. Three collection strains and 57 isolates of M. bovis, collected during 3 years from cattle with infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis (IBK) symptoms, from diverse geographical locations of Argentina, were examined. The LPS and OMP profiles were studied through SDS-PAGE analysis and genotype was determined by PCR-DNA fingerprinting. Genotyping identified five DNA types while analysis of LPS and OMP profiles identified three rough LPS types and three OMP types among the 60 isolates of M. bovis including the three collection strains. None of the three methods employed to assess diversity was discriminating when used alone because the degree of heterogeneity in each group of surface structures was limited, but when data of each typing method were combined, 15 distinct subgroups were determined. This subgrouping was clearly able to differentiate isolates of the same genotype. These typing methods appear to be useful to assess different aspects of the disease such as the diversity within a population of M. bovis associated to epidemic conditions, track the causal agent in an outbreak of the disease, monitoring vaccination programs and studies on virulence.

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The aim of the study reported here was to investigate the production of Bordetella pertussis outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). Numerous vesicles released from cells grown in Stainer-Scholte liquid medium were observed. The formation of similar vesicle-like structures could also be artificially induced by sonication of concentrated bacterial suspensions. Immunoblot analysis showed that OMVs contain adenylate cyclase-hemolysin (AC-Hly), among other polypeptides, as well as the lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Experiments carried out employing purified AC-Hly and OMVs isolated from B. pertussis AC-Hly- showed that AC-Hly is an integral component of the vesicles. OMVs reported here contain several protective immunogens and might be considered a possible basic material for the development of acellular pertussis vaccines.

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Cells of Bordetella pertussis grown in a bioreactor under stirring conditions were studied to investigate the effect of shear stress on cellular-bound filamentous haemagglutinin (FHA). FHA attached to the bacterial surface, unlike extracellular FHA, was not affected at the shear levels tested. Moreover, no other cellular immunogen involved in the whole-cell protective activity seemed to be affected by hydromechanical forces.

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Bordetella pertussis produces extracytoplasmic adenylate cyclase toxin (AC) which has received considerable attention as a potential vaccine candidate. Great interest from laboratories involved in production, purification and quality control of acellular pertussis vaccine is focused on finding an appropriate technique for rapid and accurate quantitation of AC antigen. In this paper a competitive ELISA is proposed. A polystyrene microplate coated with purified AC was incubated with the sample to be tested plus anti-AC serum. The bound anti-AC antibodies were measured by sequential reaction with alkaline phosphatase-labelled anti-mouse IgG and p-nitrophenylphosphate. This method showed high specificity, with the 50% inhibition corresponding to 4 micrograms/ml of AC. It also proved to be useful to assess the presence of AC in culture supernatants, with high reproducibility.

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This paper attempts to provide an explanation for the effect of cyclodextrin on the yield of Bordetella pertussis soluble antigens. It was demonstrated that the addition of cyclodextrin to the synthetic Stainer-Scholte liquid medium enhances the level of the intracellular form of adenylate cyclase (200 kDa) in the supernate. In addition to this effect, it has been reported that cyclodextrin also enhances the levels of two other extracellular proteins, pertussis toxin and filamentous hemagglutinin. As these antigens are structurally different, it seems that the effect of cyclodextrin is not specific. With the use of different buffer systems of well-known action on outer membrane stability it was possible to determine a relationship between the presence of cyclodextrin, destabilisation of the outer membrane and the release of proteins. It was determined that the cyclodextrin did not modify the fluidity of B. pertussis cells but produced a change of outer membrane permeability.

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The effect of the addition of (2,6-O-dimethyl)-beta-cyclodextrin (Me beta CD) during growth of Bordetella pertussis in synthetic Stainer-Scholte liquid medium (SS) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS; endotoxin) release was investigated. The Me beta CD concentration used (3 mg/ml) was chosen according to the optimal level found in previous studies to enhance major soluble antigen production. The profiles in SDS-PAGE (sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis) of LPS extracted from cells grown in SS and SS + Me beta CD media revealed similar patterns. Although the LPS content of whole cells decreased during cell growth, yields obtained at different growth periods in cyclodextrin medium were lower than those corresponding to SS medium alone. Consequently, the level of LPS released in supernatants of both media increased during cellular growth. This amount of free LPS was higher in the cyclodextrin liquid medium and became significant at the beginning of the stationary growth phase. Binding of cyclodextrin to pertussis cells could account for the data obtained. Similar results were obtained with all species of the genus Bordetella.

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The production of Bordetella pertussis extracytoplasmic filamentous haemagglutinin (FHA) and pertussis toxin (PT) in a bioreactor under stirring conditions was studied in order to investigate the effect of hydromechanical forces on yields of both antigens. It was shown that FHA loses its haemagglutinin activity when the power transmitted by the agitator and the aerator per unit volume increases, whereas PT production is not affected. The loss of FHA activity can be explained by the action of shear forces on the filamentous structure of this antigen.

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The influence of different organic and inorganic nitrogen source combinations and C∶N ratios was studied in connection with growth and protein production ofBacillus thuringiensis var.israelensis. Protein production was assumed to be proportional to delta-endotoxin production. Delta-endotoxin concentration increased when media were supplemented with (NH4)2SO4, but the delta-endotoxin: biomass dry weight ratio was unaffected by different C∶N ratios. Organic nitrogen source, yeast extract, could be partially replaced by (NH4)2SO4 with a significant increase in delta-endotoxin production.

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The effects of media composition on growth parameters, total protein production (including delta-endotoxin) and its relation to the biological properties ofBacillus thuringiensis var.israelensis was investigated. The replacement of glucose by glycerol as the carbon source yielded higher concentrations of delta-endotoxin. This increase in toxicity was associated with increased amounts of the 130 kDa polypeptide fraction. The biocide activity was not related to haemolytic activity. specific growth rate nor spore count.

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This paper deals with studies related to the influence of several ions on growth, spore formation and endotoxin formation by a Bacillus thuringiensis HD-1 strain commonly used for bioinsecticide production. Two basal media (4 and 5, Table 1) containing glucose, (NH4)2 SO4, phosphates and yeast extract or bacto peptone as organic nitrogen sources were supplemented with several ions in different concentrations, as shown in table 1. The experiments were conducted in 1000 ml Erlenmeyer flasks, containing 100 ml of medium, located in a rotary shaker at 30 degrees C. Several estimations were carried out, mainly biomass by optical density and colony forming units (CFU), glucose, Mg+2 and Mn+2 consumption and delta-endotoxin by a rocket immunoelectrophoretic method. The results obtained (Table 2) clearly show the importance of the addition of Ca+2, Mg+2 and Mn+2 to the basal media, because the highest values of CFU/l and delta-endotoxin (expressed as protein in g/l) were achieved in those media supplemented with the ions mentioned. It was also proved that the supplementation with Ca+2 was also essential for maintaining the thermal stability of the spores (Table 3). It can be concluded that an adequate formulation of media mainly related with the content of Mn+2, Mg+2 and Ca+2 is essential for obtaining high yields of spore crystal production of a Bacillus thuringiensis HD-1 strain.

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This paper deals with studies related to the influence of several ions on growth, spore formation and endotoxin formation by a Bacillus thuringiensis HD-1 strain commonly used for bioinsecticide production. Two basal media (4 and 5, Table 1) containing glucose, (NH4)2 SO4, phosphates and yeast extract or bacto peptone as organic nitrogen sources were supplemented with several ions in different concentrations, as shown in table 1. The experiments were conducted in 1000 ml Erlenmeyer flasks, containing 100 ml of medium, located in a rotary shaker at 30 degrees C. Several estimations were carried out, mainly biomass by optical density and colony forming units (CFU), glucose, Mg+2 and Mn+2 consumption and delta-endotoxin by a rocket immunoelectrophoretic method. The results obtained (Table 2) clearly show the importance of the addition of Ca+2, Mg+2 and Mn+2 to the basal media, because the highest values of CFU/l and delta-endotoxin (expressed as protein in g/l) were achieved in those media supplemented with the ions mentioned. It was also proved that the supplementation with Ca+2 was also essential for maintaining the thermal stability of the spores (Table 3). It can be concluded that an adequate formulation of media mainly related with the content of Mn+2, Mg+2 and Ca+2 is essential for obtaining high yields of spore crystal production of a Bacillus thuringiensis HD-1 strain.

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