Toshi Shimamoto

Emergence of Plasmid-Mediated Colistin Resistance Gene mcr-1 in a Clinical Escherichia coli Isolate from Egypt.

Colistin is considered a last resort for the treatment of infections caused by carbapenemase-producing members of the family Enterobacteriaceae. Recently, a transferable plasmid conferring resistance to colistin was discovered in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae from China ([1][1]) and was

Characterization of integrons and resistance genes in multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica isolated from meat and dairy products in Egypt.

Foodborne pathogens are a leading cause of illness and death, especially in developing countries. The problem is exacerbated if bacteria attain multidrug resistance. Little is currently known about the extent of antibiotic resistance in foodborne pathogens and the molecular mechanisms underlying this resistance in Africa. Therefore, the current study was carried out to characterize, at the molecular level, the mechanism of multidrug resistance in Salmonella enterica isolated from 1600 food samples (800 meat products and 800 dairy products) collected from different street venders, butchers, retail markets and slaughterhouses in Egypt. Forty-seven out of 69 isolates (68.1%) showed multidrug resistance phenotypes to at least three classes of antimicrobials. The incidence of multidrug-resistant isolates was higher in meat products (37, 69.8%) than in dairy products (10, 62.5%). The multidrug-resistant serovars included, S. enterica serovar Typhimurium (24 isolates, 34.8%), S. enterica serovar Enteritidis, (15 isolates, 21.8%), S. enterica serovar Infantis (7 isolates, 10.1%) and S. enterica non-typable serovar (1 isolate, 1.4%). The highest resistance was to ampicillin (95.7%), then to kanamycin (93.6%), spectinomycin (93.6%), streptomycin (91.5%) and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (91.5%). PCR and DNA sequencing were used to screen and characterize integrons and antibiotic resistance genes and 39.1% and 8.7% of isolates were positive for class 1 and class 2 integrons, respectively. β-lactamase-encoding genes were identified in 75.4% of isolates and plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes were identified in 27.5% of isolates. Finally, the florphenicol resistance gene, floR, was identified in 18.8% of isolates. PCR screening identified S. enterica serovar Typhimurium DT104 in both meat and dairy products. This is the first study to report many of these resistance genes in dairy products. This study highlights the high incidence of multidrug-resistant S. enterica in meat and dairy products in Egypt, with the possibility of their transfer to humans leading to therapeutic failure. Therefore, the overuse of antibiotics in animals should be drastically reduced in developing countries.

Antiviral Effects of Persimmon Extract on Human Norovirus and Its Surrogate, Bacteriophage MS2

UNLABELLED Human noroviruses (NoVs) are the leading cause of gastroenteritis and foodborne illnesses worldwide. In this study, we investigated the effects of persimmon extract (PE) on NoV GII.4 and bacteriophage MS2. We also examined the relationship between the tannin content of PE and its antiviral effects to identify the active ingredient in PE. Different persimmon tannin (PT) solutions were prepared by mixing PE with different concentrations of bovine serum albumin. The antiviral efficacy of these solutions against NoV was evaluated by quantifying the amount of residual noroviral genome using a quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) assay. The antiviral efficacy of PE against MS2 was examined with an infectivity assay (plaque assay). Solutions containing ≥ 0.11 mg/mL PT reduced the noroviral genome by more than 70.0% and the infectivity of MS2 by more than 2.5 log PFU/mL. However, the effects of PT on both viruses decreased markedly at a concentration of 0.08 mg/mL and solutions containing negligible PT had no antiviral activity. These results suggest that the PT component of PE inactivates NoV and MS2. Our results indicate that PE is a nontoxic antiviral agent effective against enteric viruses. PRACTICAL APPLICATION Persimmon extract showed antiviral effects against NoV and bacteriophage MS2. Persimmon extract is suitable for use as an antiviral agent.

Antimicrobial Effects of Blueberry, Raspberry, and Strawberry Aqueous Extracts and their Effects on Virulence Gene Expression in Vibrio cholerae.

The antimicrobial effects of aqueous extracts of blueberry, raspberry, and strawberry on 13 pathogenic bacteria were evaluated. The minimum inhibitory concentrations and minimum bactericidal concentrations of the extracts were determined before and after neutralization to pH 7.03 ± 0.15. Both Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative pathogenic bacteria were selectively inhibited by the non‐neutralized berries. Blueberry was the best inhibitor, and Vibrio and Listeria were the most sensitive bacteria. After neutralization, blueberry affected only Vibrio and Listeria, whereas the antimicrobial activities of raspberry and strawberry were abolished. The total contents of phenolics, flavonoids, and proanthocyanidins in the extracts were measured with colorimetric methods and were highest in strawberry, followed by raspberry, and then blueberry. We also studied the effects of sub‐bactericidal concentrations of the three berry extracts on virulence gene expression in Vibrio cholerae. Real‐time quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction revealed that the three berry extracts effectively repressed the transcription of the tcpA gene. Raspberry also repressed the transcription of the ctxA gene, whereas blueberry and strawberry did not. However, the three berry extracts did not affect the transcription of toxT. These results suggest that the three berry extracts exert potent antimicrobial effects and inhibit the expression of the virulence factors of V. cholerae. Copyright

Characteristics of the melibiose transporter and its primary structure in Enterobacter aerogenes.

Cells of Enterobacter aerogenes can grow on melibiose as a sole source of carbon. This suggests the presence of melibiose operon in this organism. We found that E. aerogenes cells possess both alpha-galactosidase activity and melibiose transport activity, which were induced by melibiose. Neither Na+ nor Li+ stimulated the melibiose transport. However, transport of methyl-beta-thiogalactoside (TMG) was stimulated by Li+ but not by Na+. These findings suggest that the major coupling cation for the melibiose transporter in E. aerogenes is H+. In fact, we observed H+ entry into cells caused by an influx of melibiose and some of its analogs. We cloned the melB gene which encodes the melibiose transporter, and sequenced it. Deduced amino acid sequence of the transporter revealed that the melibiose transporter consists of 471 amino acid residues and the molecular weight was calculated to be 52214 Da. The sequence showed high homology with the sequences of the melibiose transporters of Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Higher homology was found with the melibiose transporter of K. pneumoniae than with that of E. coli and S. typhimurium.

NDM-4- and NDM-5-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae Coinfection in a 6-Month-Old Infant

Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae are a serious problem worldwide ([1][1]). Among the newly emerging carbapenemases, New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM) is one of the antimicrobial resistance factors causing greatest concern because its global spread has been rapid and it is frequently

Producing human ceramide-NS by metabolic engineering using yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Ceramide is one of the most important intercellular components responsible for the barrier and moisture retention functions of the skin. Because of the risks involved with using products of animal origin and the low productivity of plants, the availability of ceramides is currently limited. In this study, we successfully developed a system that produces sphingosine-containing human ceramide-NS in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae by eliminating the genes for yeast sphingolipid hydroxylases (encoded by SUR2 and SCS7) and introducing the gene for a human sphingolipid desaturase (encoded by DES1). The inactivation of the ceramidase gene YDC1, overexpression of the inositol phosphosphingolipid phospholipase C gene ISC1, and endoplasmic reticulum localization of the DES1 gene product resulted in enhanced production of ceramide-NS. The engineered yeast strains can serve as hosts not only for providing a sustainable source of ceramide-NS but also for developing further systems to produce sphingosine-containing sphingolipids.

Two novel retron elements are replaced with retron-Vc95 in Vibrio cholerae

Bacterial reverse transcriptase (RT) is responsible for the production of an RNA‐DNA complex called multicopy single‐stranded DNA (msDNA). The genetic element required for the sysnthesis of msDNA is named a retron. Here, we characterize two novel retrons named retron‐Vc81 and retron‐Vc137 in Vibrio cholerae. Interestingly, retron‐Vc81 and retron‐Vc137 are replaced by retron‐Vc95 at the same location on the chromosome.

First report in Africa of two clinical isolates of Proteus mirabilis carrying Salmonella genomic island (SGI1) variants, SGI1-PmABB and SGI1-W

Two Proteus mirabilis strains, designated PmTAN59 and PmKAF126, were isolated from two different Egyptian cities in 2014 and 2015, respectively. PmTAN59 was isolated from a sputum swab from a pneumonia patient in Tanta University Teaching Hospital. PmKAF126 was isolated from a patient with a diabetic foot infection in a hospital in the city of Kafr El-Sheikh. The two isolates were identified with bacterial small ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) gene amplification and sequencing and tested for antimicrobial sensitivity with a Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion assay. The two strains were resistant to amoxicillin/clavulante, ampicillin, cefotaxime, cefoxitin, ceftriaxone, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, colistin, gentamicin, kanamycin, nalidixic acid, spectinomycin, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprime, and tetracycline, but sensitive to aztreonam, imipenem, and meropenem. Molecular characterization was used to map the entire backbone, including the multiple antibiotic resistance (MDR) region, of Salmonella genomic island 1 (SGI1). Both isolates carried a structure similar to SGI1, with two different MDR regions corresponding to SGI1-PmABB in PmTAN59 and SGI1-W in PmKAF126. SGI1-PmABB carried an integron of ~1.5kb with a two-gene cassette, aacCA5-aadA7, which confers resistance to gentamicin, streptomycin, and spectinomycin, whereas SGI1-W carried an integron of ~1.9kb containing aadA2-lnuF, which confers resistance to spectinomycin, streptomycin, and lincosamides. PmKAF126 carried the entire SGI1 sequence, however PmTAN59 carried a SGI1 structure with a deletion in the region from ORF S005 to ORF S009 and accompanied by insertion of IS1359 (1258bp). Furthermore, PmTAN59 carried class 2 integron of ~2.2kb containing dfrA1-sat2-aadA1. An ERIC-PCR analysis detected no clonal relationship between the two strains. Molecular screening for other antimicrobial resistance genes and a plasmid analysis indicated that PmTAN59 carried an IncFIB plasmid type. This strain also carried blaTEM-1 and the plasmid-mediated quinolone-resistance gene qnrA1. However, PmKAF126 carried no plasmids and no resistance gene other than that contained in the MDR region of SGI1 and floR gene conferring resistance to florfenicol. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an SGI1-positive P. mirabilis strain in Egypt or on the entire African continent.

Sphingolipids regulate telomere clustering by affecting the transcription of genes involved in telomere homeostasis

ABSTRACT In eukaryotic organisms, including mammals, nematodes and yeasts, the ends of chromosomes, telomeres are clustered at the nuclear periphery. Telomere clustering is assumed to be functionally important because proper organization of chromosomes is necessary for proper genome function and stability. However, the mechanisms and physiological roles of telomere clustering remain poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrate a role for sphingolipids in telomere clustering in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Because abnormal sphingolipid metabolism causes downregulation of expression levels of genes involved in telomere organization, sphingolipids appear to control telomere clustering at the transcriptional level. In addition, the data presented here provide evidence that telomere clustering is required to protect chromosome ends from DNA-damage checkpoint signaling. As sphingolipids are found in all eukaryotes, we speculate that sphingolipid-based regulation of telomere clustering and the protective role of telomere clusters in maintaining genome stability might be conserved in eukaryotes. Summary: Sphingolipids regulate telomere clustering by affecting the transcription of genes involved in telomere homeostasis in yeast.