Sahar Abbasiliasi

Isolation of Pediococcus acidilactici Kp10 with ability to secrete bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance from milk products for applications in food industry

BackgroundLactic acid bacteria (LAB) can be isolated from traditional milk products. LAB that secrete substances that inhibit pathogenic bacteria and are resistant to acid, bile, and pepsin but not vancomycin may have potential in food applications.ResultsLAB isolated from a range of traditional fermented products were screened for the production of bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances. A total of 222 LAB strains were isolated from fermented milk products in the form of fresh curds, dried curds, and ghara (a traditional flavor enhancer prepared from whey), and fermented cocoa bean. Eleven LAB isolates that produced antimicrobial substances were identified as Lactococcus lactis, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Pediococcus acidilactici strains by biochemical methods and 16S rDNA gene sequencing. Of these, the cell-free supernatant of Kp10 (P. acidilactici) most strongly inhibited Listeria monocytogenes. Further analysis identified the antimicrobial substance produced by Kp10 as proteinaceous in nature and active over a wide pH range. Kp10 (P. acidilactici) was found to be catalase-negative, able to produce β-galactosidase, resistant to bile salts (0.3%) and acidic conditions (pH 3), and susceptible to most antibiotics.ConclusionTraditionally prepared fermented milk products are good sources of LAB with characteristics suitable for industrial applications. The isolate Kp10 (P. acidilactici) shows potential for the production of probiotic and functional foods.

Primary recovery of a bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance derived from Pediococcus acidilactici Kp10 by an aqueous two-phase system

A polymer-salt aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) consisting of polyethylene-glycol (PEG) with sodium citrate was developed for direct recovery of a bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance (BLIS) from a culture of Pediococcus acidilactici Kp10. The influences of phase composition, tie-line length (TLL), volume ratio (VR), crude sample loading, pH and sodium chloride (NaCl) on the partition behaviour of BLIS was investigated. Under optimum conditions of ATPS, the purification of BLIS was achieved at 26.5% PEG (8000)/11% sodium citrate with a TLL of 46.38% (w/w), VR of 1.8, and 1.8% crude load at pH 7 without the presence of NaCl. BLIS from P. acidilactici Kp10 was successfully purified by the ATPS up to 8.43-fold with a yield of 81.18%. Given that the operation of ATPS is simple, environmentally friendly and cost-effective, as it requires only salts and PEG, it may have potential for industrial applications in the recovery of BLIS from fermentation broth.

Fermentation factors influencing the production of bacteriocins by lactic acid bacteria: a review

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are of major interest in the food industry primarily by virtue of their biopreservative properties. LAB have ability to produce various types of antimicrobial compounds, the most important being bacteriocins. Bacteriocins and bacteriocin-producing cultures have the potential to increase the shelf-life of foods and contribute towards decreasing the incidence of food-borne diseases. In this respect, food preservation through in situ production of bacteriocins by LAB introduced into the food system would be the most logical approach. However, there is a need to understand the relationship between bacterial growth and bacteriocin production in various types of food system. Bacteriocin production by LAB is dependent on a number of factors such as the types of carbon and nitrogen sources and their concentrations in the media formulation. Other factors which need to be considered are the culture conditions which include pH, temperature and aeration which greatly influence the cultivation performance of bacteriocins producing LAB. Economic aspects pertaining to the optimization of fermentation process for the enhancement of bacteriocin production should also be given due considerations. Failure to acknowledge or recognize this hidden economic element would be a substantial financial loss to the industry especially from the point of view that the product is costly and highly sought after. Thus, the fermentation factors which influence the production of bacteriocins by LAB and the approaches to improve the production not only in term of yield and productivity but also in term of economic and regulation are reviewed in this paper.

Aqueous two-phase flotation for primary recovery of bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance (BLIS) from Pediococcus acidilactici Kp10

An aqueous two-phase flotation (ATPF) system based on polyethylene glycol (PEG) and sodium citrate (NaNO3C6H5O7·2H2O) was considered for primary recovery of bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance (BLIS) from Pediococcus acidilactici Kp10. The effects of ATPF parameters namely phase composition, tie-line length (TLL), volume ratio between the two phases (VR), amount of crude load (CL), pH, nitrogen gas flow rate (FR) and flotation time (FT) on the performance of recovery were evaluated. BLIS was mainly concentrated into the upper PEG-rich phase in all systems tested so far. The optimum conditions for BLIS purification, which composed of PEG 8000/sodium citrate, were: TLL of 42.6, VR of 0.4, CL of 22% (w/w), pH 7, average FT of 30min and FR of 20mL/min. BLIS was partially purified up to 5.9-fold with a separation efficiency of 99% under this optimal conditions. A maximum yield of BLIS activity of about 70.3% was recovered in the PEG phase. The BLIS from the top phase was successfully recovered with a single band in SDS-gel with molecular weight of about 10-15kDa. ATPF was found to be an effective technique for the recovery of BLIS from the fermentation broth of P. acidilactici Kp10.

Enhancement of BLIS production by Pediococcus acidilactici kp10 in optimized fermentation conditions using an artificial neural network

The present study was aimed at enhancing the production of bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance (BLIS) produced by Pediococcus acidilactici Kp10 through optimizing the fermentation parameters. M17 was chosen in preliminary study as a culture medium because BLIS production was nine times higher (1427.7 AU mL−1) compared to that produced by MRS (160 AU mL−1). The fermentation parameters such as temperature, inoculum size, buffer strength, concentration of tween 80 and agitation speed were screened using two level half-factorial design. BLIS production is influenced by three most significant factors identified as temperature, inoculum size and agitation speed, which were further optimized using an artificial neural network (ANN). ANN predicted that a maximum activity of 5262.64 AU mL−1 would be obtained at optimum conditions of 120 rpm, 3% and 28.5 °C. The observed BLIS activity at the predicted optimum levels of the tested variables in ANN was 5118.5 AU mL−1, which was close to the predicted BLIS activity. Increased BLIS activity in the final solution, which resulted from the optimized process, would reduce downstream steps such as concentrating the product during purification.

Novel Gold Nanoparticles Reduced by Sargassum glaucescens: Preparation, Characterization and Anticancer Activity

The current study investigated the anticancer properties of gold nanoparticles (SG-stabilized AuNPs) synthesized using water extracts of the brown seaweed Sargassum glaucescens (SG). SG-stabilized AuNPs were characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The SG-stabilized AuNPs were stable and small at 3.65 ± 1.69 nm in size. The in vitro anticancer effect of SG-stabilized AuNPs was determined on cervical (HeLa), liver (HepG2), breast (MDA-MB-231) and leukemia (CEM-ss) cell lines using fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, caspase activity determination, and MTT assays. After 72 h treatment, SG-stabilized AuNPs was shown to be significant (p < 0.05) cytotoxic to the cancer cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The IC50 values of SG-stabilized AuNPs on the HeLa, HepG2, CEM-ss, MDA-MB-231 cell lines were 4.75 ± 1.23, 7.14 ± 1.45, 10.32 ± 1.5, and 11.82 ± 0.9 μg/mL, respectively. On the other hand, SG-stabilized AuNPs showed no cytotoxic effect towards the normal human mammary epithelial cells (MCF-10A). SG-stabilized AuNPs significantly (p < 0.05) arrest HeLa cell cycle at G2/M phase and significantly (p < 0.05) activated caspases-3 and -9 activities. The anticancer effect of SG-stabilized AuNPs is via the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. The study showed that SG-stabilized AuNPs is a good candidate to be developed into a chemotherapeutic compound for the treatment of cancers especially cervical cancer.

Effect of Medium Composition and Culture Condition on the Production of Bacteriocin-Like Inhibitory Substances (BLIS) by Lactobacillus Paracasei LA07, a Strain Isolated from Budu

ABSTRACT The effect of medium composition (type and concentration of carbon and nitrogen sources) and culture conditions (pH, aeration and temperature) on the production of bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances (BLIS) by Lactobacillus paracasei LA07 was studied in shake flask culture. The highest BLIS production was obtained from de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) broth, which was 4%, 22%, 51% and 63% higher than those obtained in M17 Broth, Tryptic Soy Broth (TSB), Brain Heart Infusion Broth (BHIB) and Nutrient Broth (NB) respectively. The addition of meat extract (5 g/L) and yeast extract (5 g/L) to MRS broth increased further BLIS production by 5% and 8%, respectively. The production of BLIS was further improved by 11% and 13% through the addition of tryptone (3 g/L) and glucose (10 g/L), respectively. The growth of Lb. paracasei LA07 and BLIS production were not significantly affected by agitation, either in anaerobic or in aerobic conditions. The optimum initial pH and temperature for BLIS production by Lb. paracasei LA07 was pH 8.5 and 30 °C, respectively.

Purification of β-mannanase derived from Bacillus subtilis ATCC 11774 using ionic liquid as adjuvant in aqueous two-phase system

The partitioning of β-mannanase derived from Bacillus subtilis ATCC 11774 in aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) was studied. The ATPS containing different molecular weight of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and types of salt were employed in this study. The PEG/salt composition for the partitioning of β-mannanase was optimized using response surface methodology. The study demonstrated that ATPS consists of 25% (w/w) of PEG 6000 and 12.52% (w/w) of potassium citrate is the optimum composition for the purification of β-mannanase with a purification fold (PF) of 2.28 and partition coefficient (K) of 1.14. The study on influences of pH and crude loading showed that ATPS with pH 8.0 and 1.5% (w/w) of crude loading gave highest PF of 3.1. To enhance the partitioning of β-mannanase, four ionic liquids namely 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([Bmim]BF4), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([Emim]BF4), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([Bmim]Br), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([Emim]Br) was added into the system as an adjuvant. The highest recovery yield (89.65%) was obtained with addition of 3% (w/w) of [Bmim]BF4. The SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that the β-mannanase was successfully recovered in the top phase of ATPS with the molecular size of 36.7kDa. Therefore, ATPS demonstrated a simple and efficient approach for recovery and purification of β-mannanase from fermentation broth in one single-step strategy.

Partitioning behavior of recombinant lipase in Escherichia coli by ionic liquid-based aqueous two-phase systems

There has been significant interest in ionic liquid aqueous two-phase systems (ILATPSs) with properties such as rapid phase segregation which can lead to a reduction in time taken for protein recovery. Evaluations of ILATPSs were performed with various types of ionic liquid ((Emim)BF4, (Emim)Br, (Bmim)BF4, and (Bmim)Br) and salts (potassium-, sodium-, and magnesium-based) as phase components to figure out their competencies in the recovery of lipase from a fermentation broth of E. coli using banana waste as a substrate. The results of this study revealed that an ILATPS comprising (Emim)Br/potassium phosphate significantly enhanced lipase recovery upon partitioning lipase. Optimization of the composition of the ILATPS using response surface methodology (RSM) significantly improved the purification factor (PF) and partition coefficient (Ke). The influences of crude loading (CL), pH changes, and the presence of NaCl on the recovery performance were also studied. Recovery of E. coli BL21 lipase was accomplished in an (Emim)Br/potassium phosphate ILATPS using 26.5% (w/w) (Emim)Br, 19% (w/w) potassium phosphate at pH 7.6, 3% NaCl and a crude loading of 7% (w/w). Using this ILATPS, lipase was successfully recovered in a single purification step, which gave a yield, PF and Ke of 93.75%, 3.394 and 1.352, respectively. A high PF value indicates that (Emim)Br/potassium phosphate is capable of attaining an excellent degree of lipase purity, suggesting that the proposed ILATPS is suitable for implementation in a large scale process for lipase purification.

Multiple overlap extension PCR (MOE-PCR): an effective technical shortcut to high throughput synthetic biology

The current study describes multiple-overlap-extension PCR (MOE-PCR) as a simple and effective approach to assembling multiple DNA fragments with various sizes and features in a single in vitro reaction. In this research, 50 bp of homology in overlapping DNA fragments and a specific touchdown PCR program resulted in successful assembly of eight different DNA fragments using a single PCR protocol. The simplicity, speed, reliability and cost-effectiveness of MOE-PCR offers it as an attractive method for assembling and/or cloning single and multiple DNA fragments. Indeed, the method is a one-step approach that eliminates some of the routine steps such as ligation and complex enzymatic reactions as well as sequence limitations of the other methods. The applications of this relatively high fidelity method could be extended to the construction of chimeric recombinant sequences that can be widely used in metabolic engineering, functional analysis of genes and genetic elements, expression studies of multi-domain proteins, protein engineering and the most recent genome editing strategies which together with synthetic biology are revolutionizing the life sciences. We expect the technique to be used as a robust, reliable and fast method in synthetic biology.