Liliana P. Silva

Echinococcus granulosus in Portugal: The first report of the G7 genotype in cattle

Although cystic echinococcosis (CE) has been a recognized public health problem in Portugal, molecular data regarding the types and prevalence of infecting strains of its etiological agent (Echinococcus granulosus) are still scarce. Over the last years we have been evaluating the prevalence of CE in the country, and in this report we determined the parasite genotypes infecting sheep, goats, cattle and human in Portugal, based on 209 hydatid cysts recovered from liver (n=96), lung (n=95), pancreas (n=17) and kidney (n=1) samples obtained between 2008 and 2011. Protoscoleces or germinal layers were collected from individual cysts, DNA was extracted, and a part of the mitochondrial DNA encoding the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 was amplified by PCR. Overall, the results confirm the overall dominance of the G1-G3 cluster of strains, which are particularly prevalent in southern Portugal in livestock ruminants. Unexpectedly, one parasite sequence with cattle origin was found to correspond to E. granulosus G7 genotype (also known as E. intermedius), here reported for the first time in bovine, in Portugal.

Rapid detection of high-risk Enterococcus faecium clones by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

We aimed to explore the potential of matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for early identification of dominant Enterococcus faecium (Efm) clones involved in human infections. Well-characterized Efm isolates (n=77), analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and multilocus sequence typing(eBURST and BAPS [Bayesian analysis of population structure] algorithms), and belonging to different hospital (n=53) and community (n=24) phylogenomic groups, were tested. Mass spectra (Bruker) were analyzed by visual inspection and different chemometric tools. Discrimination between groups comprising isolates commonly found in hospitals (BAPS 2.1a, 3.3a1, 3.3a2) and community (BAPS 2.1b and 3.2) was achieved with >99% accuracy, while identification of sequence types belonging to different BAPS subgroups was associated with >95% correct predictions. Our work is a proof of concept with regard to the suitability of MALDI-TOF MS in the identification of high-risk Efm clones. Further studies including strains from a wider variety of clones and sources will strengthen the potential of the workflow here described.

Uncommon carbapenemase-encoding plasmids in the clinically emergent Acinetobacter pittii.

Objectives Two carbapenemase-carrying plasmids, pLS488 (blaOXA-23) and pLS535 (blaOXA-58) from Acinetobacter pittii clinical isolates, were characterized in this study, including their ability to be transferred to Acinetobacter baumannii. Methods The clinical isolates were obtained from drainage fluid of a patient with biliary tract cancer and from an exudate of a patient with a hip infection (Portuguese University Hospital, 2012). Isolate characterization included antimicrobial susceptibility tests, carbapenemase production by Blue-Carba, carbapenem-hydrolysing class D β-lactamase (CHDL) gene search by PCR sequencing, ApaI-PFGE, CHDL genetic location and plasmid size by hybridization and WGS. Plasmid transfer was performed by conjugation or electroporation. Results pLS488 constitutes the first conjugative plasmid reported to carry a carbapenem resistance gene in A. pittii and is part of a potential new incompatibility group that might also account for the dissemination of OXA-23 in A. baumannii. pLS535 belongs to the Acinetobacter GR7 incompatibility group and presents a new scaffold for OXA-58. This plasmid lacked the machinery for conjugation, but was transferable by electroporation to A. baumannii. Both isolates, which displayed the same PFGE pattern, represent the first report of CHDL-carrying A. pittii in Portuguese hospitals. Conclusions Altogether, these results emphasize the importance of A. pittii, or particular A. pittii clones, as a source of resistance genes, facilitating their dissemination among different bacterial species.

Design and Characterization of Sugar-Based Deep Eutectic Solvents Using Conductor-like Screening Model for Real Solvents

Inspired by the lack of characterization of natural eutectic and deep eutectic (DES) systems, we studied the solid-liquid equilibria (SLE) of binary and ternary mixtures involving choline chloride and sugars. The densities, viscosities and solvatochromic parameters for the binary systems containing choline chloride, [Ch]Cl, were measured at the eutectic composition, and the water impact on these properties was also investigated in order to address the tailoring of their properties using water. Mixtures of sugars are shown to present an ideal behavior, while their binary mixtures with choline chloride present negative deviations to the ideality, particularly in the sugar solubility curve. Aiming to develop a predictive model to design new sugar based DES, the [Ch]Cl + sugars phase diagrams were used to tune the COnductor-like Screening MOdel for Real Solvents (COSMO-RS) parameters, which was after applied in the estimation of the eutectic points of new ternary DES. The predictions quality was checked experimentally, proving that COSMO-RS can be a useful tool for the design of deep eutectic solvents.