Comparison of Five Media for the Isolation of Coliform Organisms from Dehydrated and Deep Frozen Foods

S ummary . A significantly higher number of coliform and faecal coliform organisms were isolated using lactose-glutamic acid medium than by using lauryl sulphate-tryptone, lactose, brilliant green-bile or EE broths. With brilliant green-bile and lauryl sulphate-tryptone broth, coliforms/Enterobacteriaceae were isolated less often than with the others. For the detection of faecal coliforms, EE broth proved less good than all other media. All 5 media showed more coliforms/Enterobacteriaceae after 48 h than after 24 h at 30°. Few false positive results were obtained using any of these media.     

Evaluation of Culture Media for the Isolation of Salmonellae from Feces

Serial passage of the 64-2389 strain of type 3 parainfluenza virus in cercopithecus monkey kidney tissue cultures at low temperatures resulted in the selection of a variant which had a higher efficiency of plaque formation at 25 C than the parent line grown at 37 C. The cold variant, unlike the parent strain, plaqued readily at 25 C, and at 37 C it produced significantly larger plaques. Virus titers of the cold variant in hamster lungs were significantly lower and this was probably caused by the stimulation of interferon by the cold variant during the early phase of the infection. The cold variant, like the virus grown at 37 C, also induced the synthesis of interferon late in the infection. Hamsters responded to the intranasal inoculation of each virus line by the development of hemagglutinating-inhibiting antibodies in the sera.     

Development of a Selective Medium for the Isolation of Clostridium sporogenes and Related Organisms

An attempt was made to develop a selective isolation medium for Clostridium sporogenes and related organisms based on the ability of these organisms to obtain their energy for growth by means of coupled oxidation-reduction reactions between appropriate pairs of amino acids (Stickland reaction). Using a semi-defined basal medium containing various combinations of amino acids, it was found that Cl. sporogenes utilized a wider range of amino acid pairs than strains of five other species of clostridia known to carry out a Stickland-type fermentation.
With alanine and proline as the principal energy sources and the medium solidified with agar. it was shown that reference strains of Cl. sporogenes and proteolytic Cl. botulinum types A, B and F could be recovered almost quantitatively, with or without prior heating at 80 °C for 10 min. By contrast, growth of test strains of Streptococcus faecalis, Strep. faecium , 'saccharolytic' Cl. botulinum types B, C, D, E and F and 'proteolytic' strains of types C and D was suppressed on this medium, as were strains of 26 other species of clostridia.
Addition of 50 μg/ml of polymyxin to the agar medium had no detectable effect on the recovery of Cl. sporogenes or Cl. botulinum. When samples of soil and mud were plated on the antibiotic-containing medium, 63.1% of 225 isolates thus obtained were identified as Cl. sporogenes/botulinum.     

Improved Method for Isolation of Bacterial Inhibitors from Oleuropein Hydrolysis

A new high-pressure liquid chromatography multidetection quantitative method for the isolation of the products of oleuropein hydrolysis is described. A single analysis yields sufficient amounts of the compounds to test their inhibitory effect on bacterial growth.     

Evaluation of Culture Media for the Isolation of Salmonellas from Sewage Sludge

Ten samples of sewage sludge were examined by various methods for the isolation of salmonellas using three types of enrichment broth: Muller-Kauffmann Tetrathionate Broth (MKTB), Selenite F Broth (SFB), and Brilliant Green Broth (BGB), two temperatures (37°C and 43°C) and three selective media: Deoxycholate Citrate Agar incubated aerobically (DCA), and anaerobically (DCA(N)), Brilliant Green Agar (BGA), and Bismuth Sulphite Agar (BSA). The results suggest that a combination of pre-enriched MKTB incubated at 37°C and plated on to BGA at 24 and 48 h was the best method, but when examining contaminated material such as sewage sludge, it appears unwise to rely on one single method.     

Immunoadsorbent for the Isolation of Bacterial Specific Antibodies

A new method is described for the isolation and purification of large quantities of bacterial specific antibodies. The technique involves the use of polymerized microorganisms as a specific immunoadsorbent. There should be wide application of this method for the purification of antibodies to various types of microorganisms, provided that the polymerization process does not result in the loss of specific antigenic determinants.     

小麦BBC1基因cDNA的克隆与分析

从小麦(Triticum aestivum L.)中克隆了一个BBC1基因的cDNA.分析结果表明,该基因编码一亲水多肽,富含丙氨酸、赖氨酸、精氨酸和谷氨酸.该基因的转录受低温调控.在小麦基因组中,BBC1基因以一个小家族的形式存在.     

小麦BBC1基因cDNA的克隆与分析

从小麦(Triticum aestivum L．)中克隆了一个BBC1基因的cDNA。分析结果表明,该基因编码一亲水多肽,富含丙氨酸、赖氨酸、精氮酸和谷氦酸。该基因的转录受低温调控。在小麦基因组中,BBC1基因以一个小家族的形式存在。     

Nitrofurantoin Media for the Isolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Selective and enrichment media containing nitrofurantoin were compared with media containing cetrimide in the isolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from contaminated specimens. The nitrofurantoin media were as sensitive as cetrimide media, were easier to prepare and use and constant in performance.     

Respiratory Chains in the Last Common Ancestor of Living Organisms

Sequences in current databases show that a number of proteins involved in respiratory processes are homologous in archaeal and bacterial species. In particular, terminal oxidases belonging to oxygen, nitrate, sulfate, and sulfur respiratory pathways have been sequenced in members of both domains. They include cytochrome oxidase, nitrate reductase, adenylylsulfate reductase, sulfite reductase, and polysulfide reductase. These proteins can be assigned to the last common ancestor of living organisms assuming that the deepest split of the three domains of life occurred between Archaea and Bacteria and that they were not acquired through lateral gene transfer by one of these domains. These molecular data indicate that several of the most important respiratory pathways arose early in evolution and that the last common ancestor of living organisms was not a simple organism in its energetic metabolism. Rather, it may have been able to gain energy by means of at least four electron transport chains, and therefore it may have been prepared to face a wide range of environmental conditions.     

Evaluation of Methods for the Isolation of Salmonella and Arizona Organisms from Pet Turtles Treated with Antimicrobial Agents

Turtles infected with and actively excreting Salmonella-Arizona organisms were treated with various concentrations of both Neo-Terramycin (N-Te) and Terramycin (Te) (Pfizer) for various periods of time and then tested for the presence of these pathogens by two methods, excretion and blending. Turtles treated with 200 μg of Te per ml of container water for 9, 12, or 14 days did not excrete detectable numbers of Salmonella-Arizona for 6 to 8 weeks, whereas when representative turtles from treatment groups were blended 72 h post-treatment these organisms were isolated from the whole turtle homogenate. Salmonella and Arizona could be recovered from homogenate prepared from turtles treated for 7 and 14 days with 400, 800, or 1,000 μg of Te or N-Te per ml. These findings suggest that the blending method is more sensitive than the excretion method for the detection of Salmonella-Arizona in the treated turtle.     

608份胆汁标本中分离细菌菌谱及其药敏结果分析

了解胆系感染常见的病原菌及其药敏情况,为抗菌治疗提供依据。采用法国生物梅里埃公司的VITEK-2及API系统进行细菌鉴定,药敏试验采用K—B纸片法,应用WHONET5．4对药敏结果进行分析。608份胆汁标本中共分离细菌和真菌431株,其中革兰阴性杆菌320株（占74．2％）、革兰阳性球菌91株（占21．1％）、真菌20株（占4．6％）;排在前3位的菌株分别是大肠埃希菌、肺炎克雷伯菌和铜绿假单胞菌。胆系感染以革兰阴性杆菌为主,尤以肠杆菌科细菌为主,上述细菌对碳青霉烯类、酶抑制剂类以及三代头孢菌素的敏感率均较高。     

Isolation of Bacterial Antagonists of Aspergillus flavus from Almonds

Bacteria were isolated from California almond orchard samples to evaluate their potential antifungal activity against aflatoxin-producing Aspergillus flavus. Fungal populations from the same samples were examined to determine the incidence of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species. Antagonistic activities of the isolated bacterial strains were screened against a nonaflatoxigenic nor mutant of A. flavus, which accumulates the pigmented aflatoxin precursor norsolorinic acid (NOR) under conditions conducive to aflatoxin production. Using solid and liquid media in coculture assays, 171 bacteria isolated from almond flowers, immature nut fruits, and mature nut fruits showed inhibition of A. flavus growth and/or inhibition of NOR accumulation. Bacterial isolates were further characterized for production of extracellular enzymes capable of hydrolyzing chitin or yeast cell walls. Molecular and physiological identification of the bacterial strains indicated that the predominant genera isolated were Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Ralstonia, and Burkholderia, as well as several plant-associated enteric and nonenteric bacteria. A set of 20 isolates was selected for further study based on their species identification, antifungal phenotypes, and extracellular enzyme production. Quantitative assays using these isolates in liquid coculture with a wild-type, aflatoxin-producing A. flavus strain showed that a number of strains completely inhibited fungal growth in three different media. These results indicate the potential for development of bacterial antagonists as biological control agents against aflatoxigenic aspergilli on almonds.