Acetobacter senegalensis isolated from mango fruits: Its polyphasic characterization and adaptation to protect against stressors in the industrial production of vinegar: A review

It has been more than a decade since Acetobacter senegalensis was isolated, identified and described as a thermotolerant strain of acetic acid bacteria. It was isolated from mango fruits in Senegal and used for industrial vinegar production in developing countries, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. The strain was tested during several spirit vinegar fermentation processes at relatively high temperatures in accordance with African acclimation. The upstream fermentation process had significant stress factors, which are highlighted in this review so that the fermentation process can be better controlled. Due to its high industrial potential, this strain was extensively investigated by diverse industrial microbiologists worldwide; they concentrated on its microbiological, physiological and genomic features. A research group based in Belgium proposed an important project for the investigation of the whole-genome sequence of A. senegalensis. It would use a 454-pyrosequencing technique to determine and corroborate features that could give this strain significant diverse bio-industrial applications. For instance, its application in cocoa bean fermentation has made it a more suitable acetic acid bacterium for the making of chocolate than Acetobacter pasteurianus. Therefore, in this paper, we present a review that summarizes the current research on A. senegalensis at its microbial and genomic levels and also its specific bio-industrial applications, which can provide economic opportunities for African agribusiness. This review summarizes the physiological and genomic characteristics of Acetobacter senegalensis, a thermotolerant strain isolated from mango fruits and intended to be used in industrial vinegar fermentation processes. It also explores other bio-industrial applications such as cocoa fermentation. Vinegar fermentation is usually performed with mesophilic strains in temperate regions of the world. Developing countries, such as Senegal, import vinegar or make ‘fake’ vinegar by diluting acetic acid obtained from petrochemicals. The use of a thermotolerant Acetobacter senegalensis strain as a solid functional starter culture, as well as the design of a new adapted bioreactor, has significantly contributed to food security and the creation of small- to medium-sized enterprises that produce mango vinegar in West Africa.     

Can it be all more simple? Manufacturing aflatoxin biocontrol products using dry spores of atoxigenic isolates of Aspergillus flavus as active ingredients

Aflatoxin contamination of staple crops, commonly occurring in warm areas, negatively impacts human and animal health, and hampers trade and economic development. The fungus Aspergillus flavus is the major aflatoxin producer. However, not all A. flavus genotypes produce aflatoxins. Effective aflatoxin control is achieved using biocontrol products containing spores of atoxigenic A. flavus. In Africa, various biocontrol products under the tradename Aflasafe are available. Private and public sector licensees manufacture Aflasafe using spores freshly produced in laboratories adjacent to their factories. BAMTAARE, the licensee in Senegal, had difficulties to obtain laboratory equipment during its first year of production. To overcome this, a process was developed in Ibadan, Nigeria, for producing high-quality dry spores. Viability and stability of the dry spores were tested and conformed to set standards. In 2019, BAMTAARE manufactured Aflasafe SN01 using dry spores produced in Ibadan and sent via courier and 19 000 ha of groundnut and maize in Senegal and The Gambia were treated. Biocontrol manufactured with dry spores was as effective as biocontrol manufactured with freshly produced spores. Treated crops contained safe and significantly (P < 0.05) less aflatoxin than untreated crops. The dry spore innovation will make biocontrol manufacturing cost-efficient in several African countries.     

Relationship between Distinct African Cholera Epidemics Revealed via MLVA Haplotyping of 337 Vibrio cholerae Isolates

BackgroundSince cholera appeared in Africa during the 1970s, cases have been reported on the continent every year. In Sub-Saharan Africa, cholera outbreaks primarily cluster at certain hotspots including the African Great Lakes Region and West Africa.Conclusions/SignificanceTo effectively combat the disease, it is critical to understand the mechanisms of cholera emergence and diffusion in a region-specific manner. Overall, these findings demonstrate the relationship between distinct epidemics in West Africa and the African Great Lakes Region. This study also highlights the importance of monitoring and analyzing Vibrio cholerae isolates.     

Multi Locus Variable-Number Tandem Repeat (MLVA) Typing Tools Improved the Surveillance of Salmonella Enteritidis: A 6 Years Retrospective Study

Surveillance of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Enteritidis is generally considered to benefit from molecular techniques like multiple-locus variable-number of tandem repeats analysis (MLVA), which allow early detection and confinement of outbreaks. Here, a surveillance study, including phage typing, antimicrobial susceptibility testing and MLVA on 1,535 S. Enteritidis isolates collected between 2007 and 2012, was used to evaluate the added value of MLVA for public health surveillance in Belgium. Phage types PT4, PT8, PT21, PT1, PT6, PT14b, PT28 and PT13 dominate the Belgian S. Enteritidis population. The isolates of S. Enteritidis were most frequently susceptible to all antibiotics tested. 172 different MLVA profiles were detected, of which 9 frequent profiles included 67.2% of the S. Enteritidis population. During a serial passage experiment on selected isolates to investigate the in vitro stability of the 5 MLVA loci, no variations over time were observed indicating that the MLVA profiles were stable. The MLVA profile of isolates originating from different outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between 2010 and 2011 were distinct from any of the MLVA profiles found in Belgian isolates throughout the six year observational period and demonstrates that MLVA improves public health surveillance of S. Enteritidis. However, MLVA should be complemented with other subtyping methods when investigating outbreaks is caused by the most common MLVA profile.     

Fibropapillomatosis and the Chelonid Alphaherpesvirus 5 in Green Turtles from West Africa

EcoHealth - Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a tumorigenic panzootic disease of sea turtles, most common in green turtles (Chelonia mydas). FP is linked to the chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5 (ChAHV5) and...     

Individuals co-exposed to sand fly saliva and filarial parasites exhibit altered monocyte function

BackgroundIn Mali, cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and filariasis are co-endemic. Previous studies in animal models of infection have shown that sand fly saliva enhance infectivity of Leishmania parasites in naïve hosts while saliva-specific adaptive immune responses may protect against cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis. In contrast, the human immune response to Phlebotomus duboscqi (Pd) saliva, the principal sand fly vector in Mali, was found to be dichotomously polarized with some individuals having a Th1-dominated response and others having a Th2-biased response. We hypothesized that co-infection with filarial parasites may be an underlying factor that modulates the immune response to Pd saliva in endemic regions.Methodology/Principal findingsTo understand which cell types may be responsible for polarizing human responses to sand fly saliva, we investigated the effect of salivary glands (SG) of Pd on human monocytes. To this end, elutriated monocytes were cultured in vitro, alone, or with SG, microfilariae antigen (MF ag) of Brugia malayi, or LPS, a positive control. The mRNA expression of genes involved in inflammatory or regulatory responses was then measured as were cytokines and chemokines associated with these responses. Monocytes of individuals who were not exposed to sand fly bites (mainly North American controls) significantly upregulated the production of IL-6 and CCL4; cytokines that enhance leishmania parasite establishment, in response to SG from Pd or other vector species. This selective inflammatory response was lost in individuals that were exposed to sand fly bites which was not changed by co-infection with filarial parasites. Furthermore, infection with filarial parasites resulted in upregulation of CCL22, a type-2 associated chemokine, both at the mRNA levels and by its observed effect on the frequency of recruited monocytes.Conclusions/SignificanceTogether, our data suggest that SG or recombinant salivary proteins from Pd alter human monocyte function by upregulating selective inflammatory cytokines.     

Structural characterization of plant defensin protein superfamily

Plant defensins represent a major innate immune protein superfamily with strong inhibitory effects on infectious diseases of humans, antifungal/antibacterial activities, proteinase and insect amylase inhibitory activities. They are generally defined by their conserved cysteine scaffold with α-helix and triple strand anti parallel β-sheet connected to the scaffold. With the genome of more plant species being fully sequenced, significant information about newly sequenced defensin proteins has been revealed. In this paper, we identify members of defensin protein families across plant species and use protein-modeling-based structural reconstitution to reveal specific three dimensional hidden features of plant defensins mediating defense responses and other interesting biological activities in plants. Our data revealed that plant defensins are structurally similar to their insect counterparts despite the low amino acid sequence similarity between these two organisms. The molecular and structural relationship among plant defensins and defensins from other species is discussed.