3^rd Global Microbiologists Annual Meeting August 15-17, 2016 Portland, Oregon, USA
(5 Plenary Forums - 1 Event)

Biography:

Dr. Iasur Kruh has completed her PhD at the age of 30 years from the The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and postdoctoral studies from Newe Yaar, Agricultural Research Center, Israel. She is now a researcher and lecturer at the Department of Biotechnology Engineering, ORT Braude College. Her field of interest is beneficial endophytic bacteria in agriculture. She published seven peer reviewed papers and lectured in various international conferences.

Abstract:

Phelipanche and Orobanche species (broomrapes) are holoparasitic plants that connect to the vascular systems of their hosts, allowing the transfer of various substances including a possible exchange of endophytic bacteria that inhabit the internal tissues of both plants. To shed light on the microbial aspects of the parasitic interaction between Phelipanche aegyptiaca and its host, tomato, we characterized the endophytic composition in both plants before and after attachment using mass sequencing analysis. Endophyte communities of the parasitic weed were significantly different from that of the nonparasitized tomato root but no significant differences were observed between the parasite and its host, parasitized tomato root, suggesting bacterial exchange between these two plants. In addition to molecular analysis, isolation of endophytic bacteria from the parasitic weed- host plant system enabled to examine whether these isolates can affect the dynamics of host – parasite interaction. Endophytic bacteria isolates were examined for their ability to secrete substances that may affect the dynamics of this system, and indeed, a few isolates inhibit the growth of the parasitic weed. The current study focuses on the bacterial aspect of host – parasite interaction and highlights the potential of exploiting alternative environmentally friendly approaches for parasitic weed control.

Biography:

Liu Hong has completed her PhD at the age of 29 years from State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control，Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, People’s Republic of China. She is now a assistant professor at School of Life Sciences, Shandong University of Technology. Her current research interest includes the detection and investigation of arboviruses and associated disease.

Abstract:

Banna virus (BAV) was initially isolated from patients with encephalitis and fever in Yunnan Province of China in 1987. Since then, BAV isolates have been obtained from pigs, cattle and kinds of blood suking insects in China, Indonesia and Vietnam, which were mainly located in tropics and sub-tropic zones. In 2013, BAV like viruses have been reported isolated in Hungary, showing that this kind of viruses have been extends from tropical and sub-tropic zones of Southeast Asia to North temperate regions of Europe. BAVs has been considered as an emerging pathogen. However, until now, no systematic evolutinary analysis of BAVs have been reported. In this study, We used genome sequences of segment 12 of BAVs isolated worldwide from 1987-2012 to investigate evolutionary and epidemiologic dynamics. Phylogeographic approach estimated BAVs was originated in the Indonesia region and then rapidly spreaded to Southeast Asia and Europe within just about 30 years. The Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of BAVs reveals the time to most recent common ancestor and initial divergence of BAVs was at about the beginning of 20th century. Population dynamics analysis indicated that the genetic diversity of BAVs declined in the late 1980, suggesting that the virus of BAV was suffering from bottle-necked event. These results and their interpretation provide new insights into our understanding of BAV evolution and dispersal and highlight its potential for introduction into new areas.

Biography:

Muhammad Adnan doing his Ph.D (Research Scholar) from Jiangnan University, China and postgraduate studies from University of Agriculture, Faisalabad-Pakistan.. He is the Research Student in State Key Lab of China in Food Science & Technology.

Abstract:

Foodborne pathogens are the leading cause of illness and death in developing countries. The majority of foods borne diseases are caused by microbial pathogens such as viruses, bacteria and parasites. A common symptom of many Foodborne diseases includes vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever and chills. Symptoms can range from mild to serious and can last from a few hours to several days. Foodborne illnesses may lead to dehydration, hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and other complications. Acute food borne illnesses may also lead to chronic or long lasting health problems. As Clostridium botulinum affect the nervous system, causing serious alarming symptoms such as food poisoning, headache, skin tingling, blurred vision, weakness, dizziness and paralysis. Foodborne illnesses are infections or irritations of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract caused by food or beverages that contain harmful bacteria, parasites, viruses, or chemicals. Anyone can get a Foodborne illness. However, some people are more likely to develop Foodborne illnesses than others, including infants and children, pregnant women and their fetuses, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gives information on 5 Food borne illness risk factors (1) improper hot and cold holding temperatures (2) inappropriate cooking temperatures (3) dirty or contaminated utensils and equipment (4) poor health and personal hygiene (5) food from unsafe sources. The only treatment needed for most Foodborne illnesses is replacing lost fluids and electrolytes to prevent dehydration. Foodborne illnesses can be prevented by properly storing, cooking, cleaning, and handling foods.

Biography:

Maria Teresa Mascellino has completed her MD at the age of 25 years in Rome during the period of 1980 and specialization studies in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases from Sapienza University of Rome (Italy). She works as aggregate professor in the Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases. She is responsible of the Simple Operative Unit “Microbiological analyses in the immunocompromised hosts”. She has published about 100 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an editorial board member of repute. She is editor of the book “Bacterial and Mycotic infections in immunocompromised hosts: microbiological and clinical aspects” from OMICS .

Abstract:

The incidence of candidaemia varies in different geographical areas and the knowledge of the local data is crucial for an adequate therapeutic approach. Purpose of this study was to analyse the Candida species distribution and the susceptibility profiles to the major antimycotic agents both in ICU (Intensive Care Units) and in non-ICU wards in a tertiary care academic hospital over a 3-year period (2013-2015). 173 patients (averaging 15-78 years) with nosocomial candidaemia were examined. A steady rise in the number of yeasts isolated from bloodstream infections (BSI) was observed in ICU during 2015 as compared with 2013 (16.7% versus 40.9%, p=0.002). Candida albicans was the most detected species (44%) whereas non-albicans strains altogether accounted for 56% being Candida parapsilosis the most frequent isolate (32%). C. tropicalis was significantly higher in non-ICU patients whereas the opposite was true for C. parapsilosis. C. albicans showed a greater isolation rate in ICU (58%) . All the strains tested were fully susceptible to echinocandins and amphotericin B. Decreased susceptibility to fluconazole was seen with C. glabrata and C. parapsilosis. Caspofungin and voriconazole resulted to be the most potent antimycotics especially caspofungin for C. parapsilosis. Incidence of candidaemia per 10,000 admissions ranged from 6.8 to 12.4 over a 3- year period. Fluconazole non-susceptible species became more prevalent especially in non-ICU perhaps due to the wider use of fluconazole in these locations whereas a higher MICs increase for echinocandins was found in ICU probably because of the predominant prescription of these antimycotics in high risk wards.

Biography:

Abstract:

Selected species of marine benthic algae belonging to the Phaeophyceae and Rhodophyceae, collected from different coastal areas of Alexandria (Egypt), were investigated for their antibacterial and antifungal activities against fish pathogens. In vitro screening of organic solvents extracts from the marine macroalgae, Laurencia pinnatifida (Hudson) Stackhouse, Pterocladia capillaceae (Gmelin), Halopteris scoparia (Linnaeus) Kutzing, Stepopodium zonale (J. V. Lamouroux) and Sargassum hystrix var. fluitans Borgesen, showed specific activity in inhibiting the growth of five virulent strains of bacteria pathogenic to fish Pseudomonas fluorescens, Aeromonas hydrophila, Vibrio anguillarum, V. tandara, Escherichia coli and of the two fungi Aspergillus flavus and A. niger. Acetone and ethanol extracts of all test macroalgae exhibited antibacterial activitiy, while acetone extract of S. hystrix exhibited the highest antifungal activity. Macroalgal extracts inhibited bacteria more readily than fungi, besides, the extracts of the Rhodophyceae species showed the greatest activity against current test bacteria rather than fungi. Cluster analysis revealed the general response of the tested pathogens to the action of the different algal extracts. Composition of the most potent algal extracts included acetone extracts of L. pinnatifida, P. capillaceae and S. hystrix and also, ethanol extract of P. capillacae was determined using GC-MS. The present study provides the potential of red and brown macoalgae extracts for the development of anti-pathogenic agents for use in fish aquaculture.

Biography:

Dr. Charles is presently associated with Ecole PolytechniqueFederale de Lausanne as a Scientist. His research is primarily focussed in molecular biology, bacterial genetics, host-pathogen interactions and the pathogenesis mechanisms of microbes. He is now working with Prof. Blokesch on the human pathogens and their underlying mechanisms of interactions.

Abstract:

Vibrio cholerae is a Gram-negative bacterial pathogen, which is responsible for the severe diarrheal disease cholera. The occurrence of the bacterium in the aquatic environment represents a key epidemiological aspect of the disease as it increases the risks of cholera outbreaks. The current view about facultative bacterial pathogens suggests that virulence determinants evolved in the natural environment where they provide a fitness advantage. To better understand and potentially even predict cholera outbreaks, it is of prime importance to decipher the environmental life style of V. cholerae. Among eukaryotic predators, protists such as amoebae play major roles with respect to the regulation of bacterial populations. The amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii represents an interesting model for the interplay with V. cholerae since both organisms occur in the same environmental niches. A. castellanii shows a biphasic life cycle between a metabolically active/feeding form (trophozoite) and a stress-induced dormant/resistant form (cyst). In this study, we tested the ability of V. cholerae to survive the predation exerted by A. castellanii and to use the amoeba as a host for intracellular proliferation. We monitored the A. castellanii-colonizing bacteria in real time using live-cell confocal microscopy. We observed that V. cholerae shows different survival strategies that are specific for either the trophozoite or the cyst stage. Based on our observations we proposed a model of the complex life cycle between V. cholerae and A. castellanii. Next, we tested diverse mutant strains in this host-pathogen interaction model and observed impairment at different steps of the V. cholerae life cycle. The data provided in this study redefines V. cholerae as a facultative intracellular pathogen. Moreover, the ability of V. cholerae to use a natural bacterial predator as a host might contribute to its environmental fitness and the maintenance of virulence determinants.

Biography:

Dr. Francis Oronsaye is presently working as an associate professor at University of Benin, Nigeria from where he pursued PhD in Medical Microbiology. After attaining doctorate, he served in various positions including lecturer, senior lecturer and pricipal investigator for various projects involved in the same university. He has attended more than 20 international conferences and delivered talks in his field of expertise. He is a member of International Research and Development Institute and American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. He has published more than 50 research articles in peer-reviewed journals. He was also successful in designing a lotion for treating all kinds of superficial infections of bacterial and fungal origin. It is currently undergoing toxicology testing and is also awaiting NAFDAC registration.

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to characterise the bacteria associated wih wound infections A total of 35 bacterial species were isolated from wound swabs from patients attending University of Benin teaching hospital and central hospital all in Benin city Nigeria from isolates from April-November,2013, as follows: Acinetobacter species 9, Escherichia coli 10, Taylococcus aereus 16, Pseudomonas aerogene 3, Staphylococcus epidermidis 15, Proteus mirabilis 4, and Klebsiella aerfogenes 13. The organisms were identified to species level using thed protocol of Cowan and Steel. The antibiotics susceptibility patern of the isolates were also determined.

Biography:

Doreen Nehumbahas completed her MSc at the age of 44 years from Stellenbosch University.I am the senior Technologist at the University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences. I have submitted my first article for publication.

Abstract:

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, together with antiretroviral drugs, is often associated with changes in biochemical and metabolic parameters including changes in lipid profiles. The aim of the study was to compare the changes in lipid profiles among HIV positive outpatients who are on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and those who are ART-naïve over a nine months period. 171 patients were investigated, 79% were ART-experienced, while 82% of those on treatment were on NVP/EFV first line ART. More than 60% of ART-naïve and ART-experienced patients had some form of dyslipidemia either at baseline or at follow-up, but the lipid median values for the two groups were within normal limits. At baseline, median levels of total cholesterol (TC) and high density lipoprotein (HDL) were slightly higher in the ART-experienced group. After nine months of antiretroviral treatment the average lipid values were still within normal limits. Interestingly, there was higher increase in HDL over time in the ART negative group compared to the ART positive group. There was a decrease in TC/HDL ratio in both groups over time. HIV positive patients frequently show various forms of dyslipidemia, but there are no changes in average atherogenic lipid levels after nine months.

Biography:

Shambhu Kumar is presently working as a DST Young Scientist in the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow, (U.P.), India. He earned his Ph.D. degree in Botany (Fungal taxonomy) from the DDU Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, U.P. in 2010. He has published over thirty five research papers related to foliicolous Fungal diversity. He is member of Editorial Board in a number of Preer Reviewed Journals such as Current Research in Environment & Applied Mycology, Journal of Plant Pathology & Microbiology, Fungal Genomics & Biology (Omics group), World Journal of Microbiology and American Journal of Agricultural Science.

Abstract:

As we know that, our forests are major resources of revenue, particulary from timber and medicine. The parasitic foliicolous fungi are one of the biotic destructor of the forest plants. They mostly attack on the living leaves as parasite and destroyed the bio-productivity by bringing a quantitative reduction and qualitative dearrangement of the living tissues of the host in multiple ways. After the Rio de Janeiro Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992, exploration of fungal biodiversity (Fungi s. l.) becomes more important than ever to know the cause of rapid depletion of biodiversity, their conservation management for beneficial use. Although, many fungi are host specific, if the host plant is endemic, the associated fungus will also have restricted distribution (endemic). Loss of endemic plant results in the total elimination of host-specific fungus from the ecosystem. In addition to this, the updated list of fungi of a particular region helps to prevent the bio-piracy. The Terai forest region of Uttar Pradesh is nurtured under a diverse set of climatic conditions and is adorned with rich phanerogamic vegetations, and has a natural paradise for fungi in general and foliicolous fungi in particular. A large number of foliicolous fungi have been encountered from this region under supervision of Prof. Kamal but the end is still not in sight and the survey is still continuing. In this continuation, the present paper aims to explore the hidden foliicolous miromycological diversity of this region and provide complete spectrum to plant pathologists to conserve and manage the plant diseases caused by the foliicolous fungi for future prospects. More than hundred foliar samples were collected during the present survey from the Terai forests of Uttar Pradesh and upon critical morphotaxonomic determinations, 10 foliar samples belong to hyphomycete were appeared as new to Science. The type samples have been deposited in the HCIO, IARI, New Delhi and AMH-ARI, Pune. The detail descriptions and nomenclatural novelties of novel taxa were deposited in MycoBank.

Biography:

Liu Canying has completed her PhD at the age of 28 years from Huazhong Agricultural University College of Veterinary Medicine. She has just graduated and been the lecturer of Foshan University Department of Veterinary Medicine for about one year. She has published 4 papers in famous journals. She mainly performed research projects about the comparative genomic and pathogenicity analyses of bacteria, immunogenicity analyse of outer membrane proteins of bacteria.

Abstract:

Strains of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) can invade and colonize extraintestinal sites and cause a wide range of infections. Porcine ExPEC becomed one of the bacterial pathogens that threat the development of Chinese pig industry. But nowadays, research reports about ExPEC have focused on isolates of human and avain origin, with little attention on porcine ExPEC infection, with no porcine isolates yet to be sequenced. To better understand the genomic attributes underlying the pathogenicity of porcine ExPEC, we performed genomic analysis of one representative porcine ExPEC strain PCN033, assessed its in vivo virulence and compared its genomes with other characteristic E. coli strains. Result of genomic analysis showed that compared with an nonpathogenic E. coli strain PCN061 isolated from pig, PCN033-specific sequences including genes encoding adhesins, unique lipopolysaccharide, unique capsular polysaccharide, iron acquistion and transport systems, and metabolism. A large plasmid PCN033p3 harboring many typical ExPEC virulence factors was identified in PCN033. Additionally, PCN033 was pathogenic to pig and able to cause pathogenic changes in pig brain. Furthermore, the comparative genomic analyses showed that the PCN033 genome shared many similarities with genomic sequences of human ExPEC strains. This suggested that some connections between porcine and human ExPEC strains exist. Additionally, comparison of PCN033 genome with other nine characteristic E. coli genomes revealed 425 PCN033-special coding sequences. Genes of this subset included those encoding type I restriction-modification (R-M) system, type VI secretion system (T6SS) and membrane-associated proteins which possibly provide insights towards the molecular mechanisms of porcine ExPEC infections.

Biography:

Madhusudan Choudhary is a Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Sam Houston State University, Texas, USA. He did his Ph.D. from McMaster University (Canada) and postdoctoral study at Duke University (USA). He has previously worked as Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at University of Texas Medical Center-Housrton, Texas. He has published over 50 research publications in national and international journals and has been serving as an editorial board member of JMBE and Microbial Life.

Abstract:

Rhodobacter sphaeroides is a facultative anaerobic bacterium which belongs to the α-3 subdivision of Proteobacteria. It has a complex genome, consisting of two chromosomes, chromosome I (CI) and chromosome II (CII), which are approximately 3Mb and 0.9Mb, respectively. The objective of this study was to identify and characterize the origins of replication of the two chromosomes, and analyze them with respect to chromosomal or plasmid origin type. Using bioinformatics approaches, such as Z-curve and GC-skew analyses, three and five putative chromosomal origin regions were identified on CI and CII, respectively. The flanking regions of these putative regions were analyzed for the conservation of genes known to be located near confirmed replicative origins of other bacterial species. Each of the putative regions were amplified and cloned into a pLO1 vector, which contains a Kanamycin resistance gene and acts as a suicide vector in R. sphaeroides. These recombinant pLO1 plasmids were mobilized into R. sphaeroides using biparental mating of E. coli S17-1 and R. sphaeroides. Resulting transconjugants were characterized for the autonomous replication of the plasmid in R. sphaeroides. Conservation of genes proximal to the replication origins as well as biological characterization of these putative origin sequences confirmed the repective origins of the two chromosmes. Results also revealed that the replicative origin of the primary chromosome is a typical bactyerial chromosomal type, while secondary chromosome is located near parA and parB genes, an arrangement shared by a number of megaplasmids in other bacteria.

Biography:

Abstract:

Clostridium aceticum was the first isolated autotrophic acetogen, converting CO2 plus H2 or syngas to acetate. Its genome has now been completely sequenced and consists of a 4.2-Mbp chromosome and a small circular plasmid of 5.7 kbp. Sequence analysis revealed major differences from other autotrophic acetogens. C. aceticum contains an Rnf complex for energy conservation (via pumping protons or sodium ions). Such systems have also been found in C. ljungdahlii and Acetobacterium woodii. However, C. aceticum also contains a cytochrome, as does Moorella thermoacetica, which has been proposed to be involved in the generation of a proton gradient. Thus, C. aceticum seems to represent a link between Rnf- and cytochrome-containing autotrophic acetogens. In C. aceticum, however, the cytochrome is probably not involved in an electron transport chain that leads to proton translocation, as no genes for quinone biosynthesis are present in the genome.

Biography:

Abstract:

The genus Fusarium contains a number of soil borne species with worldwide distribution The presented PCR assays are highly selective and sensitive in detecting the Fusarium genus. In order to identify the eighteen Fusarium isolates obtained at the molecular level, PCR analysis using primer specific for the conserved ITS DNA region of Fusarium genus was conducted. The data indicated that, all of the eighteen isolates showed a clear band corresponding to the expected molecular size of the ITS region (431bp). These results confirmed that all the tested samples belong to the genus Fusarium. Also, when all eighteen isolates of Fusarium species were analyzed by PCR for fumonisin producing ability using FUM1 gene based primers, the expected DNA fragment of 183 bp was amplified only in Fusarium verticillioides ( 3 isolates), Fusarium avenaceum ( 3 isolates) , Fusarium semitectum ( 1 isolate) and Fusarium culmorum ( 2 isolates) showed a positive result with FUM1 gene set of primers. No bands were seen in other isolates of Fusarium spp. and the standard ( Fusarium graminearum ). The genus Fusarium contains a number of soil borne species with worldwide distribution The presented PCR assays are highly selective and sensitive in detecting the Fusarium genus. In order to identify the eighteen Fusarium isolates obtained at the molecular level, PCR analysis using primer specific for the conserved ITS DNA region of Fusarium genus was conducted. The data indicated that, all of the eighteen isolates showed a clear band corresponding to the expected molecular size of the ITS region (431bp). These results confirmed that all the tested samples belong to the genus Fusarium. Also, when all eighteen isolates of Fusarium species were analyzed by PCR for fumonisin producing ability using FUM1 gene based primers, the expected DNA fragment of 183 bp was amplified only in Fusarium verticillioides ( 3 isolates), Fusarium avenaceum ( 3 isolates) , Fusarium semitectum ( 1 isolate) and Fusarium culmorum ( 2 isolates) showed a positive result with FUM1 gene set of primers. No bands were seen in other isolates of Fusarium spp. and the standard ( Fusarium graminearum )

Biography:

Dr. Krom has completed his PhD in 2002 from Groningen University and postdoctoral studies from Georgetown University as well as Groningen University. He is working as an assistant professor of Preventive Dentistry at ACTA, Netherlands since 2011. Previously, he served as assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering in the same institute for 5 years. He has published more than 40 papers in reputed journals.

Abstract:

Development of Candida spp. biofilms on medical devices such as catheters and voice prosthesis has been recognized as an increasing clinical problem. Different in vitro models are presented with increasing complexity. Each model system can be utilized for analysis of new active compounds to prevent or treat Candida biofilms as well as to study molecular processes involved in biofilm formation. Susceptibility studies of clinical isolates are generally performed in a simple 96-well model system similar to the CLSI standard. In the present chapter, optimized conditions that promote biofilm formation within individual wells of microtiter plates are described. In addition, the method has proven useful in preparing C. albicans biofilms for investigation by a variety of microscopic and molecular techniques. A more realistic and more complex biofilm system is presented by the Amsterdam Active Attachment (AAA) model. In this 24-well model all crucial steps of biofilm formation: adhesion, proliferation, and maturation, can be simulated on various surfaces, while still allowing a medium throughput approach. This model has been applied to study susceptibility, complex molecular mechanisms as well as interspecies (Candida-bacterium) interactions. Finally, a realistic microfluidics channel system is presented to follow dynamic processes in biofilm formation. In this Bioflux-based system, molecular mechanisms as well as dynamic processes can be studied at a high time-resolution.

Biography:

Ivonne A. at the age of 33 years is finishing her Master studies from La Sabana University of Design and Management Processes, she is Environment and Sanitary Engineering from La Salle University, and was worked for three years in paper making industry.

Abstract:

Paper sludge has been considered an atractive and convenient biomass source for second generation biofuels, likewise enzymes are critical factor in bioconversion of lignocellulosic waste, besides this, the cost presents an economical bottleneck in the bioethanol production (Machado et al., 2010). An enzymatic extract produced from Verticillium sp. and Penicillium sp., composed of proteins with molecular weight among 11,62 - 107,6 kDa, was used to produce fermentable sugars via enzymatic hydrolysis and was compared with sugars produced with commercial enzyme Cellic®. Factors as hydrolysis time, temperature, enzymatic extract or enzyme concentration and solid load, were evaluated. The hydrolysis process with the extract produced 26% and 17% of reducing sugars than produced with enzyme Cellic® at 37°C and 45°C respectively, under the same contitions (18,17% solid loading, 6% extract/ enzyme loading, 150 rpm and 12 hours), buffer effect is observed because of ash present in the paper sludge. The best conditions for fermentable sugars production were used to develop an SSF process with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the process was carried out during 9 days, allowing the production of 14.60 ±7.4 and 11.18 ±1.9 g/L of ethanol with enzymatic extract and enzyme Cellic® respectively, corresponding to a theoretical ethanol yield based on initial hexose of 43.12% (g ethanol /g hexose) with enzymatic extract and 33.03% with enzyme Cellic® at day 9 of process. This result shows the potential of the enzymatic extract degrading lignocellulosic material for the production of second generation ethanol, considering that is a crude extract that has not been purified.

Biography:

Dr. Jay Zhu obtained his PhD degree from Cornell University and completed postdoctoral studies from Harvard Medical School. He is an Associate Professor of Microbiology at Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. He has published more than 75 papers in reputed journals and has been serving on Editorial Broad of a number of Microbiolgy journals.

Abstract:

Bacterial pathogens must display versatility in gene expression to adapt to changing surroundings – especially to changes in the redox potential and the presence of redox-active compounds in the local microenvironment. For example, a key part of the life cycle of Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of cholera, is the transition between oxygen-rich aquatic reservoirs to the oxygen-limiting environment of the human gastrointestinal tract, and combating reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by the host immune system. Here using Tn-seq, we show that these two pathways – oxidative stress resistance and virulence – are linked in V. cholerae by two transcription factors, OhrR and AphB. We found that both OhrR and AphB bind to and regulate the promoters of the critical virulence activator tcpP and ROS resistance gene ohrA. In shifting between high-oxygen and low-oxygen environments, these proteins exhibit different kinetics of conformational change and binding at both promoters so as to optimize the expression of both genes. This cross-talk was critical both for colonizing the host and for bacterial survival upon exit into the environment. Our results suggest that regulation of bacterial virulence is closely intertwined with oxidative stress responses.

Biography:

Xiangru Wang has completed his PhD at the age of 28 years from Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agriculture University. Dr. Wang has been awarded scholarship under the State Scholarship Fund for the exchange study overseas as a joint Ph.D visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from October 2012 to April 2014, working on the CNS-infecting bacterial penetration of the blood-brain barrier. He is now a research member in State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, China, and has published more than 10 research arcitles in reputed journals in the field of veterinary.

Abstract:

Central nervous system (CNS) infection continues to be an important cause of mortality and morbidity, necessitating new approaches for investigating its pathogenesis and prevention of the disease. Escherichia coli is the most common Gram-negative bacillary organism causing meningitis, which develops following penetration of the blood–brain barrier (BBB). By chemical library screening, we identified epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) as a contributor to E. coli invasion of the BBB in vitro and in vivo. Here, we obtained the direct evidence that CNS-infecting E. coli exploited sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) for EGFR activation in its penetration of the BBB. We found that S1P was upstream of EGFR and participated in EGFR transactivation through EGFR-related ligand HB-EGF, and blockade of S1P function through targeting sphingosine kinase and S1P receptor inhibited EGFR activation, as well as E. coli invasion of the BBB. We further found that both S1P and EGFR activations in response to meningitic E. coli involve the same E. coli proteins (OmpA, FimH, NlpI), and that S1P and EGFR promoted E. coli invasion of the BBB by activating the downstream c-Src. These findings indicate that S1P and EGFR represent the novel host targets for meningitic E. coli penetration of the BBB, and counteracting such targets provide a novel approach for controlling E. coli meningitis in the era of increasing resistance to conventional antibiotics.

Biography:

Abstract:

Bordetella adenylate cyclase toxin (ACT) is secreted from bacteria by a ‘push-pull’ mechanism through a T1SS ‘channel-tunnel’ assembly. This is promoted by the C-terminal folding nucleus that emerges with the C-terminal secretion signal from the T1SS conduit on bacterial surface and facilitates Ca2+-driven stacking of adjacent RTX repeats blocks. These form β-roll structures, serving as Brownian ratchets that promote vectorial folding of the translocating ACT polypeptide as it emerges from the T1SS duct. The secreted toxin then targets myeloid phagocytes bearing the complement receptor 3 (CR3, αMβ2 integrin CD11b/CD18 or Mac-1), such as neutrophil, macrophage or dendritic cells (DC, CD11bhigh). ACT recognizes a positively charged loop of the CD11b subunit of CR3 near the hinge region outside of the I-domain of CD11b and inserts directly across phagocyte membrane. ACT-mediated Ca2+ influx then induces calpain-mediated cleavage of talin, enabling ACT to hijack the receptor and mobilize it into membrane lipid rafts. There, translocation of the AC domain across cell membrane is completed across a tightly sealed protein-lipid interface. The AC binds cytosolic calmodulin and catalyzes conversion of ATP to cAMP, generating supraphysiologic cAMP levels that subvert phagocyte functions, causing phagocyte impotence due to inactivation of the Syk kinase and block of signaling of leukocyte receptors. Activation of PKA through cAMP next provokes transient inactivation of the small GTP-ase RhoA, causing rapid and unproductive cell ruffling. In parallel, transient activation of the tyrosine phosphatase SHP-1 occurs by an as yet unknown PKA-dependent mechanism and causes inhibition of oxidative burst and block of expression of iNOS and of bactericidal NO production in phagocytes. Simultaneously, activated SHP-1 causes stabilization of BimEL and activation of Bax, provoking induction of apoptosis. Influx of calcium ions and relocation into membrane rafts also allows ACT to escape rapid endocytic removal from cell surface, thus enabling a subpopulation of ACT molecules to oligomerize into small cation-selective pores that permeabilize cells for potassium efflux. This contributes to induction of maturation of dendritic cells that is, however, hijacked by cAMP signaling that compromises the capacity of DCs to stimulate antigen-specific T cell immune responses. Migration of the incompletely mature DCs into lymph nodes then likely contributes to suppression of adaptive host immune responses to the pathogen and support bacterial colonization of the host in early stages of infection. Later in infection, ACT action provokes NALP3 inflammasome activation in dendritic cells, which likely contributes to late inflammatory response and eventual development of Th1/Th17 polarized immune responses that support eventual clearance of the bacterial infection.

Biography:

Yuan Hu received an MD from Guangzhou Medical University (1983) and an MS (1990) in Pharmaceutical Sciences from St. John’s University, New York. He is a research microbiologist at U.S. Food & Drug Administration. He is also a licensed Clinical Laboratory Director in New York State. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles, books chapter and abstracts.

Abstract:

Noroviruses (NoVs) are highly infectious and cause acute gastroenteritis in humans. NoVs have high levels of genetic sequence diversities, which lead to difficulties in designing robust universal primers to efficiently amplify specific viral genomes for molecular analysis. We here described the practicality of sequence-independent amplification combined with DNA microarray analysis for simultaneous detection and genotyping of human NoVs in fecal specimens. We showed that single primer isothermal linear amplification (Ribo-SPIA) of genogroup I (GI) and genogroup II (GII) NoVs could be run through the same amplification protocol without the need to design and use any virus-specific primers. Related virus could be subtyped by the unique pattern of hybridization with the amplified product to the microarray. By testing 22 clinical fecal specimens obtained from acute gastroenteritis cases as blinded samples, two were GI positive and 18 were GII positive as well as 2 negative for NoVs. A NoV GII positive specimen was also identified as having co-occurrence of hepatitis A virus. The study showed that there was 100% concordance for positive NoV detection at genogroup level between the results of Ribo-SPIA/microarray and the phylogenetic analysis of viral sequences of the capsid gene. This efficient broad range microarray detection method represents a valuable tool for norovirus study and outbreaks investigation.

Biography:

Abstract:

Procalcitonin (PCT) is a biomarker of severe sepsis caused by bacterial infections. There is a paucity of evidence about the relationship of procalcitonin levels with variables such as site of infection and comorbidities. We conducted a retrospective pilot study of patients admitted to the medical and cardiac intensive care unit (ICU) from December 1, 2013 to November 30, 2014. Adults over 18 years of age with 1 positive blood culture and PCT levels drawn within 24 hours were included. 48 patients met these criteria. PCT levels were compared between true positive and contaminant/false positive blood cultures. Contaminated cultures were defined as coagulase negative Staphylococcus and diphtheroids with other non-infectious sources of sepsis. Site of infection was defined as respiratory, line-related, skin or soft tissue, intra-abdominal, or urinary tract. Co-morbidities investigated were systolic and diastolic heart failure, acute and chronic renal failure. Independent sample t tests and Pearson’s correlations were used for analysis using SPSS®22. Mean PCT levels were higher in intra-abdominal (19.54±22.14) compared to respiratory infections (3.55±7.64), p=0.067. PCT levels were higher in patients with kidney dysfunction, (r=0.541, p<0.001). Higher mortality was observed in patients with positive blood cultures, 58% compared to average ICU mortality rates of 30-35%. There were no statistically significant differences between mean PCT levels for true versus false positive blood cultures (53.63±130.52 versus 24.21±61.34, p=0.61), congestive heart failure, age, and race. We present a retrospective pilot study investigating PCT levels in ICU patients in relation to multiple variables. Our study shows a trend of higher PCT levels in intra-abdominal compared to lung infections, and elevated PCT levels in patients with kidney dysfunction. Mortality in patients with positive blood cultures was also higher than average ICU mortality at the study center. There was no statistically significant difference found between the other studied variables including true and false positive blood cultures. Due to small sample size, the power was limited. Our goals for future research will focus on expansion of data collection sample size.

Biography:

Jose is a veterinarian from the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon that completed his PhD with Jan Suchodolski at the Gastrointestinal Laboratory at Texas A&M University. He is a full-time faculty member of one of the largest Veterinary Schools in Mexico. Jose’s research interests lies on the use of molecular and computational tools to study complex microbial ecosystems. Jose is the leader of a small research group named Medical Eco-Biology, is funded by the Mexican National System of Researchers, has published several papers in respected journals, and has been serving as a reviewer of over ten prestigious scientific journals.

Abstract:

Environmental Microbiology is one of the most exciting fields in contemporary science because of three main interrelated aspects. It deals with the lives and metabolic activities of microorganisms and their communities in different environments, a phenomenon of much interest for people studying microbial evolution. Second, individual microbes within a community are capable of interacting with each other using multiple different strategies, including quorum sensing. This is particularly intriguing for those with an interest in using complex ecosystems to create and/or improve industrial processes. Third, Environmental Microbiology is interested in understanding microbially driven processes, which may help design strategies to reduce carbon footprint and other urgently needed world massive changes. This lecture will help bring these aspects in context to new molecular and computational tools that have been invented to study complex microbial communities. New high-throughput sequencing technologies have dramatically democratized the access to complex information about thousands of different microbial environments around the world. On the same path, researchers have invested lots of time and other resources to develop useful open-source freely-available computational tools that even people outside of Computational Sciences can use and exploit. Lastly, many respected scientists frequently organize Simposiums and other academic events so we can share with others, both young and more experienced academicians, the excitement of studying microbial life forms in the environment. In Environmental Microbiology, the scientific community get a chance to embark on a exciting Journey to all the great aspects of environmental microbial communities.

Biography:

Dr.Zayed has completed his PhD at the age of 35 years from Al Azhar University after getting a scholarship from Washington University from October 1992 to July 1994 through channel program to complete the practicle part of his PhD thesis and then work in teaching many different microbiology courses and supervising many M.Sc.and PhD theses in Al Azhar University and other Universites in Yemen, Libya, and Saudia Arbia. He is the Co PI and PI of a research group in King Saude University. He has published more than 25 papers in reputed journals in enviromental bacteriology and natural and synthetic antimicrobial and anticancer compounds.

Abstract:

Biosurfactants are important agents in the effective uptake of PAHs by bacteria and fungi. Biosurfactants are found as extracellular compounds or localized on the cell surface ofmicroorganisms. For the latter case, the microbial cell itself is a biosurfactant and adheres to hydrocarbon. Those biosurfactants are capable of increasing the bioavailability of poorly soluble polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as phenanthrene and resins . Therefore, the use of biosurfactants should be a promising means to emulsify the polluted oils prior to biodegradation. Many microorganisms, especially bacteria, produce biosurfactants when grownon water-immiscible substrates. Biosurfactants are more effective,selective, environmentally friendly, and stable than many syntheticsurfactants. This study interested with production of biosurfactantsfrom PAH degrading marine bacteria previously isolated from polluted Egyptian soil.

Biography:

Ella Cullen is a graduate Trinity College Dublin’s School of Genetics. She has worked on several projects relating to human disease, including psoriasis and neurodevelopmental disorders. She now works with NSilico Life Science. NSilico’s focus is on the development of easy-to-use clinical and bioinformatics software which can significantly accelerate the research process. Ella works with the company’s research teams, which have a particular focus on infectious disease and cancer. She also works on forming collaborative projects with labs and companies around the world.

Abstract:

Rapid and accurate prediction of drug resistance in pathogens is a growing need, affecting patient care and emerging personal medicine. Bacterial genome sequencing has been introduced in many hospitals as a cheaper alternative to gene targeted sequencing and PCR, but many handling issue remain to be overcome. Here, we address some of the challenges, by offering a cloud-based solution that while keeping security and privacy at the heart of the development allows remote management of large datasets, and ultra-fast drug resistance predictions without the need for local installation, maintenance or bioinformatics knowledge. Validated using literature references, we have implemented a profiler that reconstitutes (from raw sequences) the genes associated with resistance and produces an ultra-fast and accurate prediction of drug resistance. If raw sequences are available, regardless of the platform used, the profiler will generate a prediction within minutes, in contrast to other solutions which typically require hours of analysis time and interpretation. The profiler currently focuses on Mycobacterium tuberculosis and 9 key drugs, including Aminoglycosides (Kanamycin, Capreomycin, Amikacin, Viomycin), Ethambutol, Ethionamide, Fluoroquinolones, Isoniazid, Para-Aminosalisylic Acid, Pyrazinamide, Rifampicin, and Streptomycin.

Biography:

Enem Simon Ikechukwu is a Ph.D holder and a senior Lecturer at the Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Abuja, Nigeria where he served as the immediate past Head of Department. He has over 20 journal publications to his credit and has attended many conferences both locally and internationally. He has served as a reviewer to some jornals. He has passion for research.

Abstract:

The major natural reservoir of shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (E.coli) is cattle. Man gets infected by the consumption of contaminated cattle meat and meat products. Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli O157 is a major cause of haemolytic colitis (HC) and haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) in humans. The cross sectional epidemiologic method was used in this study. Human samples were collected from sick hospital patients, apparently healthy high risk individuals (abattoir workers, cattle herdsmen, milk hawkers) and from members of the public. Freshly voided faeces were collected from cattle in selected abattoirs and cattle herds. The samples were subjected to an enrichment culture and analyzed both bacteriologically and biochemically to confirm typical Escherichia coli which were then sub-cultured into plates of cefixine- tellurite sorbitol McConkey (CT- SMAC) agar. The non sorbitol fermenters stored in nutrient agar slants were further characterized using commercially procured latex agglutination test kits. A total of 572 human samples were tested for the presence of shigatoxin producing E. coli and 6 (1.05%) was positive. Of the 718 faecal samples from cattle tested, 17 were positive. The antibiogram of the isolates to some commonly used antibiotics were tested. Ten isolates from cattle were tested and found to be sensitive to levofloxacin, streptomycin, chlorampheicol and ciprofloxacin but resistant to erythromycin, gentamycin, augumentin, tetracycline, cotrimaxazole and cloxacillin. Five shigatoxin producing E. coli O157 isolated from humans were sensitive to levoflaxacin and ciprofloxacin and resistant to the rest. The study indicated that both cattle and man within the same environment harbour shigatoxin producing E. coli O157 proving that cattle play a major role as source of transmission of multi drug resistant shigatoxin producing E. coli O157 to humans in Abuja, FCT

Biography:

Paola Florez de Sessions has completed her PhD from Duke University and Postdoctoral studies at the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases in Singapore. She is the currently the GIS Efficient Rapid Microbial Sequencing (GERMS) Platform Leader.

Abstract:

Diarrheal diseases result in approximately 1.7 billion new infections and 0.75 million deaths in children under 5 years of age annually, making it the second most common cause of mortality in young children in developing countries. Repeated diarrheal episodes cumulatively increase the risk of malnutrition and stunting, which is associated with cognitive impairment and development of cardiovascular diseases and glucose intolerance in adulthood. These greatly exhaust societal resources, especially in impoverished regions and create vicious cycles of poverty demanding effective and effortful interventions. The human gastrointestinal tract is populated with immensely diverse microbial community with the large intestine harboring the greatest density. Research on gut microbiota has revealed the essential impacts that it may exert on human health, in relation to nutrition, metabolic diseases and cancer. Metagenomic techniques have been employed to investigate the microbial disturbances in persistent Clostridium difficile infection and inflammatory bowel diseases but such dysbiosis remains insufficiently characterized for infectious diarrhea in endemic setting. The highly dynamic succession of microbial colonization in young children further complicates analysis in this target group. Nevertheless, several 16S rRNA profiling studies have reached consistent findings on how gut microbiota initially responses following diarrhea, showing a transition toward facultative anaerobic Proteobacteria or Streptococcus in a more oxygenated environment. This is coupled with the significant reduction in several Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes colonizers and their abundances are restored to that resembling a healthy individual in post-diarrhea recovery state. However, these studies either focus only on cholera induced diarrhea or do not offer detailed granularity in understanding the microbiome alternation. In this study, we aim to characterize how gut microbiota changes in the early phase of secretory diarrhea in Vietnamese young children by examining their bacterial 16S rRNA composition. We utilized samples and associated metadata collected during a hospital based diarrheal surveillance study in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam from 2009 to 2010.

Biography:

Julia Maria Goncalves Dias is currently a Researcher from Federal University of Sergipe, Brazil. She has concluded her PhD in 2013 and her research line is about human papillomavirus infection in women and male partners. She has published papers in reputed journals.

Abstract:

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 630 million men and women are infected with HPV. In Brazil, between 9 million to 10 million people are infected and a total of 700,000 new cases are also expected to arise each year. Worldwide, 105 million people are estimated to be positive for types 16 and 18 HPV. From June 2009 to June, we conducted a cross-sectional study of penile lesion prevalence among male partners of women with human papillomavirus using morphological and biological methods. A total of 82 male sexual partners were recruited in the study. These men were submitted to peniscopy, cytology and viral DNA search. The male partners with penile lesion were submitted to biopsy. We investigated the association between cytology and histology. For statistical analysis, we used the X2 test with Yates’ correction. Mean age was 34.6 years, peniscopy was positive in 100%, the most common histological finding was the koilocytosis suggestive of HPV infection (76.8%), the viral DNA search was positive in 14% of men and the HPV types found were 16, 31 and 33. There was a significative association among biopsies and cytology, p=0.0134. The number of positive peniscopy and biopsies was significative. But the viral DNA does not match with the morphological findings. There was an association between cytology and histology.

Biography:

Liu Hong has completed her PhD from State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China. She is currently working as an Assistant Professor at School of Life Sciences, Shandong University of Technology. Her current research interest includes the detection and investigation of arboviruses and associated disease.

Abstract:

Banna virus (BAV) was initially isolated from patients with encephalitis and fever in Yunnan Province of China in 1987. Since then, BAV isolates have been obtained from pigs, cattle and kinds of blood sucking insects in China, Indonesia and Vietnam, which were mainly located in tropics and sub-tropic zones. In 2013, BAV like viruses have been reported isolated in Hungary, showing that these kinds of viruses have been extends from tropical and sub-tropic zones of Southeast Asia to North temperate regions of Europe. BAVs have been considered as an emerging pathogen. However, until now, no systematic evolutionary analysis of BAVs has been reported. In this study, we used genome sequences of segment 12 of BAVs isolated worldwide from 1987-2012 to investigate evolutionary and epidemiologic dynamics. Phylogeographic approach estimated BAVs was originated in the Indonesia region and then rapidly spread to Southeast Asia and Europe within just about 30 years. The Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of BAVs reveals the time to most recent common ancestor and initial divergence of BAVs was at about the beginning of 20th century. Population dynamics analysis indicated that the genetic diversity of BAVs declined in the late 1980s, suggesting that the virus of BAV was suffering from bottle-necked event. These results and their interpretation provide new insights into our understanding of BAV evolution and dispersal and highlight its potential for introduction into new areas.

Biography:

Paul M Tulkens has completed his MD from the Université Catholique de Louvain and he has also completed his PhD. He did his Postdoctoral studies at the Rockefeller University, New York. He has created the unit of cellular and molecular pharmacology and has also launched the activities of clinical pharmacy at the Université Catholique de Louvain. He has published more than 280 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an Editorial Board Member of several journals dealing with antibiotics.

Abstract:

Production of catalase; an enzyme degrading oxygenated water (H2O2), is considered an important mechanism of protection of Staphylococcus aureus against killing by phagocytes, which partly relies on H2O2 production. We observed, however, that a catalase negative clinical isolate (UCN-61) was more resistant to H2O2 mediated killing in broth, produced less reactive oxidant species (ROS) and multiplied more rapidly in human monocytes than the reference catalase positive strain ATCC25923. By complementation UCN-31 with katA (the gene encoding catalase), we restored its susceptibility to H2O2 mediated killing, ROS production and growth impairment in monocytes. Similar results were obtained when comparing an engineered catalase (-) mutant (NR47908; prepared in the environment of the clinical strain USA300) to its katA-complemented counterpart. Addition of N-acetyl-cysteine (a hydroxyl-radicals scavenger) reduced the killing activity of H2O2 towards all catalase positive strains tested but not towards the catalase negative UCN61 and NR47908 strains, while increasing their thriving abilities after phagocytosis by THP-1 monocytes. Contrary to the current dogma, expression of catalase by S. aureus may, therefore, exert more deleterious rather than a protective effect to the bacterium. In S. aureus, catalase may actually function more as oxidase than as H2O2 degrading enzyme but ROS produced as intermediates during H2O2 degradation could be also involved.

Biography:

Grigorii Gladkov is currently a PhD student working at the Laboratory of Rhizospheric Microflora in All-Russia Research Institute for Agricultural Microbiology under the supervision of Dr. I. Ya. Khudyakov. He has received his Master’s degree in Microbiology from the Saint-Petersburg State University. His main interests are cyanobacteria genetics and biotechnology, focusing in cyanobacteria heterocyst differentiation.

Abstract:

Stringent response defines a regulatory effect exerted by alarmone (p)ppGpp accumulation as a mechanism to survive starvation and a variety of harsh environmental conditions. A failure to disrupt the rel gene in two unrelated strains of cyanobacteria has led to an opinion that in cyanobacteria this gene is essential. However, inactivation by single recombination producing a truncated and presumably partially functional version of rel (all1549) in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 was claimed to result in the failure to differentiate heterocysts specialized cells that perform aerobic nitrogen fixation. Contrary to these results, we isolated fully segregated double recombinants with rel gene inactivated by the Ω cassette insertion which produced morphologically normal heterocysts but failed to grow diazotrophically (Fox- phenotype). Initial mutant clones were very sick, had altered pigmentation and died rapidly in the stationary phase (Dsp phenotype) but repeated sub-culturing resulted in gradual improvement of growth and restoration of normal pigmentation. We found an identical compensatory mutation in the rpoB (alr1594) gene encoding RNA polymerase beta subunit in several independent original mutants with improved growth characteristics. However, this mutation did not restore stationary phase survival or diazotrophic growth, while the rel gene supplied on autonomously replicating plasmid restored the wild-type phenotype. Currently we are trying to elucidate the nature of the Fox- and Dsp phenotypes caused by rel disruption.

Biography:

Gaylen A Uhlich has received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree from the University of Minnesota in 1981. After 8 years in mixed animal practice, he has joined FSIS/USDA as a Veterinary Medical Officer where he has worked in food safety for 4 years. He has completed a combined Residency/PhD program in Veterinary Pathology in 1998 and completed Postdoctoral research positions at the Meat Animal Research Center (MARC) in Clay Center, NE and at the Eastern Regional Research Center (ERRC) in Wyndmoor, PA before taking a Research Microbiologist position at ERRC.

Abstract:

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) carry numerous prophage scattered throughout their genome; for instance, the Sakai reference strain encodes 18 prophage elements, many of which are degenerate. By definition, STEC carry 1 or more copies of Shiga toxin (stx) like genes on lambdoid prophage inserted at specific genomic sites. Prophage carrying stx2 often insert in wrb, while stx1 often inhabits the proximal portion of the mlrA gene, an essential transcription factor for full expression of csgD, the central regulator of curli fimbriae and E. coli biofilms. UV light and DNA damaging chemicals can activate prophage genes and induce prophage elements to enter the lytic phase. As such, prophage elements can have a profound effect on both pathogenicity and stress resistance. These effects are mediated not only by additions to the bacterial gene complement, but also by imposing regulatory effects on the expression of genes encoded in the bacterial genome and other prophage, as well as through direct positional effects on the genes surrounding insertion sites. We have identified variants with increased biofilm-forming abilities that arise within growing serotype O157:H7 populations. Parent/variant comparisons have identified several favored mechanisms responsible for the phenotypic changes. Using WGS and transcriptomic analyses, we identified differentially-expressed prophage and genomic genes that accompany these changes. We have also mapped differences in prophage gene patterns associated with stress and virulence genes under varying concentrations of DNA damaging antimicrobial agents. Collectively, these studies have help define novel ways that STEC modulate their stress and virulence properties.

Biography:

Tatiana Tatusova has completed her PhD in Physics and Mathematics from Moscow State University, Russia. She is a Senior Scientist at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). She possesses 20+ years’ experience as a Researcher and Senior Systems Analyst with 15 years devoted to algorithm development and applied program package evaluation for genome-related research. She has published more than 100 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an Editorial Board Member of several repute journals.

Abstract:

Recent technological innovations have ignited an explosion in microbial genome sequencing that has fundamentally changed our understanding of biology of microbes and profoundly impacted public health policy. This huge increase in DNA sequence data presents new challenges for the annotation, analysis and visualization bioinformatics tools. New strategies have been designed to bring an order to this genome sequence shockwave and improve the usability of associated data. Genomes are organized in a hierarchical distance tree using single copy ribosomal protein marker distances for distance calculation. Protein distance measures dissimilarity between markers of the same type and the subsequent genomic distance averages over the majority of marker-distances, ignoring the outliers. More than 60 thousand genomes from public archives have been organized in a marker-distance tree resulting in more than 6000 species level clades representing 7597 taxonomic species. This computational infrastructure provides a foundation for prokaryotic gene and genome analysis allowing easy access to pre-calculated genome groups at various distance levels. One of the most challenging problems in the current data deluge is the presentation of the relevant data at an appropriate resolution for each application; eliminating data redundancy but keeping biologically interesting variations.

Biography:

Lilach Iasur Kruh has completed her PhD from the The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Postdoctoral studies from Newe Yaar, Agricultural Research Center, Israel. She is presently a Researcher and Lecturer at the Department of Biotechnology Engineering, ORT Braude College. Her field of interest is beneficial endophytic bacteria in agriculture. She has published seven peer reviewed papers and lectured in various international conferences.

Abstract:

Phelipanche and Orobanche species (broomrapes) are holoparasitic plants that connect to the vascular systems of their hosts, allowing the transfer of various substances including a possible exchange of endophytic bacteria that inhabit the internal tissues of both plants. To shed light on the microbial aspects of the parasitic interaction between Phelipanche aegyptiaca and its host, tomato, we characterized the endophytic composition in both plants before and after attachment using mass sequencing analysis. Endophyte communities of the parasitic weed were significantly different from that of the non-parasitized tomato root but no significant differences were observed between the parasite and its host, parasitized tomato root, suggesting bacterial exchange between these two plants. In addition to molecular analysis, isolation of endophytic bacteria from the parasitic weed-host plant system enabled to examine whether these isolates can affect the dynamics of host-parasite interaction. Endophytic bacteria isolates were examined for their ability to secrete substances that may affect the dynamics of this system and indeed, a few isolates inhibit the growth of the parasitic weed. The current study focuses on the bacterial aspect of host-parasite interaction and highlights the potential of exploiting alternative environmentally friendly approaches for parasitic weed control.

Biography:

Elizabeth V Pershina has completed her PhD from All-Russia Research Institute for Agricultural Microbiology in 2013. She has published 11 papers and 2 chapters in books. In 2015 she was awarded by the Russian Federation Government for the development of metagenomic approach for microbiological monitoring of health and resource potential of the Russian soils.

Abstract:

At the end of the 20th century microbiological science faced the fact that most of the prokaryotic communities on our planet are formed by so-called uncultivable bacteria and archaea. The presence of these organisms has changed the estimates of prokaryotic diversity to several billions of species. Soil microbial communities are especially diverse one gram of fertile soil can be inhabited by 10 billions of microbial cells belonging to hundreds of species; more than 90% of them avoid laboratory cultivation. These organisms can be studied only by the use of modern methods of metagenomic analysis, including high-throughput sequencing and subsequent bioinformatics analysis of environmental DNA. These approaches give the unique opportunity to study structural and functional properties of intact microbial communities, treating them as the integrative and continuously evolving genetic systems. In this respect, new perspectives can be seen in studying the rhizosphere effect; the selective concentration of certain microorganisms in the root zone of plants. Apparently, it is the high genetic diversity of plant associated microorganisms that allows it to improve their adaptive capacity. As in the case of the human intestinal metagenome, rhizosphere metagenome can be named the second plant genome. This talk will highlight the first results of the study of the formation of rhizosphere microbiome in two types of soils (sod-podzolic soil and chernozem) by two plant species Secale cereale (rye) and Triticum aestivum (wheat). The taxonomic structure of prokaryotic communities was analyzed for bulk and rhizosphere soil by use of V4 16S rRNA gene pyrosequensing after 42 days of greenhouse growth. Soil type seemed to be the major factor influencing the formation of rhizosphere microbiome, while the plant species affiliation had lesser (but still significant) effect on the microbial composition. Rhizosphere effect was largely associated with the increase of betaproteobacteria group. Rye rhizospheres were more similar to each other compared to wheat rhizospheres. The most significant differences between the bulk and rhizosphere soils were detected for wheat cultures and were likely associated with the increased amount of the genus Flavobacterium (phylum Bacteroidetes) in the rhizosphere of this plant. Our research demonstrates that the rhizoshere effect is the interplay of plenty factors including soil type and its agrochemical properties, plant and its multifaceted features and many other, leaving a large room for further analysis and investigation.

Biography:

Francis E Oronsaye is presently working as an Associate Professor at University of Benin, Nigeria, where he pursued PhD in Medical Microbiology. After attaining Doctorate, he served in various positions including Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Principal Investigator for various projects involved in the same university. He has attended more than 20 international conferences and delivered talks in his field of expertise. He is a Member of International Research and Development Institute and American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. He has published more than 50 research articles in peer-reviewed journals. He was also successful in designing a lotion for treating all kinds of superficial infections of bacterial and fungal origin.

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to characterize the bacteria associated with wound infections. A total of 35 bacterial species were isolated from wound swabs from the patients attending the University of Benin Teaching Hospital and Central Hospital all in Benin City of Nigeria from isolates during April-November, 2013, as follows; Acinetobacter species 9, Escherichia coli 10, Taylococcus aereus 16, Pseudomonas aerogene 3, Staphylococcus epidermidis 15, Proteus mirabilis 4, and Klebsiella aerfogenes 13. The organisms were identified to species level using the protocol of Cowan and Steel. The antibiotics susceptibility patterns of the isolates were also determined in the present study.

Biography:

Maria Teresa Mascellino has completed her MD in Rome and specialization studies in Clinical Microbiology from Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. She works as an Aggregate Professor in the Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases. She is responsible of the Simple Operative Unit “Microbiological analyses in immunocompromised hosts”. She has published about 100 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an Editorial Board Member of repute. She is an Editor of the book “Bacterial and Mycotic Infections in Immunocompromised Hosts: Microbiological and Clinical Aspects” from OMICS Group.

Abstract:

Aim of our study was to evaluate the utility of the culture and the subsequent susceptibility testing in a group of 50 pluritreated patients (positive to UBT) with pan gastritis. Out of 50 patients, culture and susceptibility testing was obtained in 31 patients (62%) whereas in 19 (38%) no H. pylori growth was detected. The first group was treated following the antibiogram results whereas the latter was empirically treated. The highest resistance rates in vitro were found for metronidazole (61.8%) and chlaritromycin (43.1%). The isolates showing a dual resistance to both antibiotics (50%) are recognized difficult to eradicate. Amoxycillin showed the best susceptibility (96%) and levofloxacin seemed a promising antibacterial agent. In the 31 patients’ positive to H. pylori, the eradication rate (49%) was dependent on the number of gastric regions infected in a single patient. In the 19 patients with no growth of H. pylori, 11 (58%) were eradicated with empirically therapy preferably with antibiotics never taken before. The difference between the two groups (49% and 58% respectively, p=0.71) even if not statistically significant, seems to demonstrate that a successful eradication can be achieved even without antibiogram. This might occur because the bacteria in the patients empirically treated are in a less virulent phase or in a small number. The new guidelines for the cure of H. pylori from the Toronto Consensus Group (2016) recommend to prolong the therapy from 10 to 14 days and to pay particular attention to local antibiotic resistance and eradication patterns. The new therapeutical strategies will be reported.

Biography:

Marco Manfredi is a Pediatrician and Gastroenterologist, carried out his education at Parma University where he has completed his PhD in Pediatric Gastroenterology in 2004. Currently he is working as Manager of Pediatric Emergency and Assistant Manager in Pediatric Gastroenterology at “Pietro Barilla” Children's Hospital in Parma, Italy. His main fields of interests are Helicobacter pylori infection, celiac disease, gastrointestinal infectious diseases and probiotics. He has published more than 70 papers, included chapters of textbooks. He is the Editor of three textbooks on “Helicobacter pylori Infection”, “Gastrointestinal Endoscopy in Children” and “Probiotics in Children” all published by Nova Science Publishers, New York, USA. He is serving as an Editorial Board Member of several reputed journal like “Clinical Microbiology: Open Access” and “Frontiers in Pediatric Gastroenterology and Hepatology” and Expert Reviewer for BMC Gastroenterology, Saudi Journal of Gastroenterology and BMC Case Reports. He is a Member of Italian Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (SIGENP).

Abstract:

In recent years, the study of human gut microbiota has become one of the most important research fields not only in medicine but in human sciences in general and our knowledge of resident microbial species and their potential functional role is rapidly growing. Actually it is called our “hidden metabolic organ” because of its immense impact on human wellbeing such as on host metabolism, physiology, nutrition and immune function. In fact changes in this microbiota have been linked to several health and pathological diseases including obesity, gastrointestinal infections, inflammatory bowel disease and functional GI disorders. For these reasons the use of probiotics has been extensively studied in promoting health as well as in treating several diseases.

Biography:

Jay Zhu has obtained his PhD degree from Cornell University and completed Postdoctoral studies from Harvard Medical School. He is an Associate Professor of Microbiology at Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. He has published more than 75 papers in reputed journals and has been serving on Editorial Broad of several Microbiology journals.

Abstract:

Bacterial pathogens must display versatility in gene expression to adapt to changing surroundings especially to changes in the redox potential and the presence of redox-active compounds in the local microenvironment. For example, a key part of the life cycle of Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of cholera, is the transition between oxygen rich aquatic reservoirs to the oxygen limiting environment of the human gastrointestinal tract and combating reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by the host immune system. Here using Tn-seq, we show that these two pathways oxidative stress resistance and virulence is linked in V. cholerae by two transcription factors, OhrR and AphB. We found that both OhrR and AphB bind to and regulate the promoters of the critical virulence activator tcpP and ROS resistance gene ohrA. In shifting between high-oxygen and low-oxygen environments, these proteins exhibit different kinetics of conformational change and binding at both promoters so as to optimize the expression of both genes. This cross talk was critical both for colonizing the host and for bacterial survival upon exit into the environment. Our results suggest that regulation of bacterial virulence is closely intertwined with oxidative stress responses.

Biography:

Xiangru Wang has completed his PhD from Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agriculture University. He has been awarded scholarship under the State Scholarship Fund for the exchange study overseas as a joint PhD Visiting Scholar at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from October 2012 to April 2014, working on the CNS-infecting bacterial penetration of the blood-brain barrier. He is presently a Research Member in State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, China and has published more than 10 research articles in reputed journals in the field of veterinary.

Abstract:

Central nervous system (CNS) infection continues to be an important cause of mortality and morbidity, necessitating new approaches for investigating its pathogenesis and prevention of the disease. Escherichia coli is the most common Gram-negative bacillary organism causing meningitis, which develops following penetration of the blood brain barrier (BBB). By chemical library screening, we identified epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) as a contributor to E. coli invasion of the BBB in vitro and in vivo. Here, we obtained the direct evidence that CNS-infecting E. coli exploited sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) for EGFR activation in its penetration of the BBB. We found that S1P was upstream of EGFR and participated in EGFR transactivation through EGFR-related ligand HB-EGF and blockade of S1P function through targeting sphingosine kinase and S1P receptor inhibited EGFR activation as well as E. coli invasion of the BBB. We further found that both S1P and EGFR activations in response to meningitic E. coli involve the same E. coli proteins (OmpA, FimH, NlpI) and that S1P and EGFR promoted E. coli invasion of the BBB by activating the downstream c-Src. These findings indicate that S1P and EGFR represent the novel host targets for meningitic E. coli penetration of the BBB and counteracting such targets provide a novel approach for controlling E. coli meningitis in the era of increasing resistance to conventional antibiotics.

Biography:

Aditya Shah is currently in his Residency training at University of Illinois Chicago, Advocate Christ Medical Centre in USA. He has worked as a Research Assistant at University of Chicago from 201-2014. He has attended Dr. D Y Patil Medical College, Mumbai, India to pursue medicine. He is a Co-Chairman of Indian American Medical Association, Illinois. He has published his research work in peer-reviewed journals and also presented it through oral/poster presentation in many international conferences.

Abstract:

Background: Procalcitonin (PCT) is a biomarker of severe sepsis caused by bacterial infections. There is a paucity of evidence about the relationship of procalcitonin levels with variables such as site of infection and comorbidities. Methods: We conducted a retrospective pilot study of patients admitted to the medical and cardiac intensive care unit (ICU) from December 1, 2013 to November 30, 2014. Adults over 18 years of age with 1 positive blood culture and PCT levels drawn within 24 hours were included. 48 patients met these criteria. PCT levels were compared between true positive and contaminant/false positive blood cultures. Contaminated cultures were defined as coagulase negative Staphylococcus and diphtheroids with other non-infectious sources of sepsis. Site of infection was defined as respiratory, line-related, skin or soft tissue, intra-abdominal or urinary tract. Co-morbidities investigated were systolic and diastolic heart failure, acute and chronic renal failure. Independent sample t tests and Pearson’s correlations were used for analysis using SPSS®22. Results: Mean PCT levels were higher in intra-abdominal (19.54±22.14) compared to respiratory infections (3.55±7.64), p=0.067. PCT levels were higher in patients with kidney dysfunction, (r=0.541, p<0.001). Higher mortality was observed in patients with positive blood cultures, 58% compared to average ICU mortality rates of 30-35%. There were no statistically significant differences between mean PCT levels for true versus false positive blood cultures (53.63±130.52 versus 24.21±61.34, p=0.61), congestive heart failure, age and race. Conclusion: We present a retrospective pilot study investigating PCT levels in ICU patients in relation to multiple variables. Our study shows a trend of higher PCT levels in intra-abdominal compared to lung infections and elevated PCT levels in patients with kidney dysfunction. Mortality in patients with positive blood cultures was also higher than average ICU mortality at the study center. There was no statistically significant difference found between the other studied variables including true and false positive blood cultures. Due to small sample size, the power was limited. Our goals for future research will focus on expansion of data collection sample size.

Biography:

Paul M Tulkens has completed his MD from the Université Catholique de Louvain and also completed his PhD. He did his Postdoctoral studies at the Rockefeller University, New York. He has created the Unit of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology and has also launched the activities of clinical pharmacy at the Université Catholique de Louvain. He has published more than 280 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an Editorial Board Member of several journals dealing with antibiotics.

Abstract:

Many bacteria survive and even thrive in eukaryotic cells (macrophages, endothelial cells, osteoblasts and keratinocytes) where they escape immune defenses, explaining the relapsing and/or recurrent character of many infections. Using human THP-1 monocytes, we undertook a systematic examination of the intracellular accumulation and disposition of antibiotics; their activity in a pharmacodynamic model measuring their extracellular concentration needed to obtain a static effect (Cs; equivalent to an intracellular MIC) and their maximal efficacy (Emax; decrease of CFU for an infinitely large extracellular concentration). Most antibiotics show Cs values similar to MIC in broth, disregarding their levels of cellular accumulation; Emax systematically lower (less decrease in CFU) than in broth. Antibiotics restricted to phagolysosomes and poorly diffusible are inactive against bacteria thriving in the cytosol (e.g., Listeria monocytogenes), but those primarily located in the cytosol but highly diffusible can act in all sub-cellular compartments. We conclude that the most important and predictive property for intracellular activity is the sub-cellular bioavailability of antibiotics and not their accumulation per se; part of the intracellular inoculum cannot be eradicated by antibiotics, suggesting the need to develop new approaches to tackle with persistent infections.

Biography:

Dr. Emeka Nweze is working as a faculty at University of Nigeria, Nigeria.

Abstract:

We undertook a study to determine fungi associated with common and different kinds of fresh and stored food grains produced and sold in Southeast Nigeria markets. The food grains sampled included Zea mays, Oryza sativa (local and imported varieties), Phaseolus vulgaris (different species), Pennisetum typhoides, Arachis hypogaea, Cola (different species), Vigna unguiculata, Sorghum bicolor, Cajanus cajan and Triticum spp. Different species of Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium, Alternaria and Rhizopus were recovered from the grains. These recovered fungal species were evaluated for mycotoxin production. Our results showed that these organisms produced one kind of mycotoxin notably aflatoxin B1, zearalenone and fumonisin B1 among others. Our findings raise some health and economic concerns especially due to the fact that Nigeria currently does not appear to have a strong monitoring and screening policy for grains that are sold in the open market to the public.

Biography:

Saket Myneni is a Member of the Westwood Class of 2017. He is the President of the National Science Bowl Club, the two-time Secretary of Area 1 HOSA and of the Seton Medical Explorer Post, Junior Class Parliamentarian and Parliamentarian of Westwood’s Skills USA chapter. He is a Member of the national honor society, Mu Alpha Theta (math honor society) and national Spanish honor society. He is a Research Assistant at the University of Texas and a volunteer at the University Medical Center at Brackenridge Teaching Hospital. Based on his efforts, he was awarded the Presidential Service Award to recognize his efforts to help the community. He has recently been selected as a finalist for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, after his research won numerous awards throughout the state of Texas.

Abstract:

Azadirachta indica (neem) extracts have proven themselves to be a promising tool because they are natural and do not cause the harmful side effects of most artificial substances. Preliminary research has shown that certain natural substances can be used without the fear of a new resistant strain developing. Current treatments are plagued by artificial substances that can have harmful side effects to the body and may not be effective for multiple uses. Thus, this project aims to determine the effectiveness of natural substances as antibacterial and antifungal. Early research suggested that the neem oil would be the most effective extract because it would envelop the bacteria and fungi. Cultures of bacteria, specifically Staphylococcus epidermidis and Serratia marcescens and cultures of fungi, specifically Aspergillus niger and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, were cultured and placed in separate plates. Zones of inhibitions were created using neem leaf extract, neem soap, neem oil, a water control and antibacterial soap control disks. The diameters of the zones where growth has stopped were compared using statistical significance tests to see if any of the natural extracts were more effective than the controls. The zones that were significantly different from the controls’ zones were compared amongst each other to see if one extract was more effective than the others. This analysis has shown that the natural substances are extremely effective and significantly stronger than antibiotic and antifungal substances and the artificial substances in the soap. The remainder of the plate was then considered to be the pool of potential resistant strands. Thus repetitions were completed with each of the treatments. Since the growth was still inhibited without resistance, it became apparent that the neem extracts could have many practical purposes in treatments of infections. Given that only a few trials were completed, the experiment would have to be completed with more trials to prove the consistent effectiveness.