Microbiology
Somayeh Bahrami; Mohammad Mehdi Feizabadi; Nader Mosavari; Fattah Sotoodehnejad; Mohammad Eslampanah
Articles in Press, Corrected Proof, Available Online from 08 August 2023
Abstract
The new strategy for vaccine development such as the fused protein multi-epitope capable of preventing the reactivation of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBi) can be an effective strategy for controlling tuberculosis (TB) worldwide. This study was conducted to evaluate the immunity of experimentally ...
Read More
The new strategy for vaccine development such as the fused protein multi-epitope capable of preventing the reactivation of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBi) can be an effective strategy for controlling tuberculosis (TB) worldwide. This study was conducted to evaluate the immunity of experimentally infected BALB/c mice with Mycobacterium tuberculosis after injection of DNA construct. Nineteen female BALB/c mice were divided into three groups and injected with 0.50 mL of M. tuberculosis. After 3 weeks, lung and spleen samples from the infected mice were examined. The protective effects of light chain 3-fused protein multi-epitope against TB were evaluated for post-exposure and therapeutic exposure. The lungs and spleens of the mice were aseptically removed after death for histopathology analysis. The bacterial colonies were counted, and the cells were stained after 3 weeks of incubation. No significant differences were observed between the post-exposure and therapeutic exposure groups. The pathological changes in the lung tissue of mice in these groups included an increase in the thickness of interalveolar septa, hyperemia, and intraparenchymal pulmonary hemorrhage centers (positive control), scattered hyperemic areas (negative control), and hyperemia in the interstitial tissue, scattered hyperemic areas in the lung parenchyma and lymphocytic infiltration centers (experimental group). Flow cytometry of the post-exposure and therapeutic exposure models showed insignificant changes in all three groups. It seems necessary to develop a post-exposure and therapeutic exposure vaccine strategy that focuses on LTBi to prevent the progression of the active disease. In this regard, multi-epitope vaccines should be designed to induce both cellular and humoral immunity.
Microbiology
Heidar Rahimi; Amir Tukmechi; Ehsan Rashidian
Articles in Press, Corrected Proof, Available Online from 08 August 2023
Abstract
The genetic diversity of Brucella strains has not been fully understood. To investigate this, the genetic characteristics of 64 isolates of Brucella melitensis from sheep and goats’ milk were studied using random fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and multiple locus variable-number tandem repeat ...
Read More
The genetic diversity of Brucella strains has not been fully understood. To investigate this, the genetic characteristics of 64 isolates of Brucella melitensis from sheep and goats’ milk were studied using random fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and multiple locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA-16) methods developed in Orsay, France (MLVA-16Orsay). The RFLP analysis revealed that all 64 isolates were of biovar one. The MLVA-typing showed that one sample was simultaneously infected with two strains of B. melitensis and the genotype of 65 isolate was analyzed. Four genotypes (47, 42, 43, and 63) were identified using MLVA-8 (panel 1), whereas six genotypes (138, 125, 116, 108, and two unknown genotypes) were identified using MLVA11 (panels 1 and 2A). From the review of MLVA-16 (panels 1, 2A, and 2B), panel 2B showed a very high discriminatory power. Two loci of Bruc04 and Bruc30 from this panel had diversity index values higher than 0.71 and the average diversity index was 0.619. So MLVA-16Orsay 34 showed the genotype indicating a low genetic homogeneity among the isolates. The findings of MLVA genotyping of the isolates suggest that strains of B. melitensis isolated from the milk of small ruminants in Iran are most closely related to the isolates from neighboring countries of the Eastern Mediterranean group. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to indicate the potential use of MLVA genotyping for simultaneous detection of specimen contamination using two different B. melitensis biovars.
Microbiology
Seyed Mahmoud Azimi; Baharak Mohammadian; Mohammad Khezri
Articles in Press, Corrected Proof, Available Online from 08 August 2023
Abstract
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), a highly contagious viral disease of livestock, is endemic in Iran. To investigate the prevalence of antibodies against 3ABC non-structural protein (NSP) of FMD virus, a cross-sectional study was conducted on dairy cattle in eight cities of Kurdistan Province from May to ...
Read More
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), a highly contagious viral disease of livestock, is endemic in Iran. To investigate the prevalence of antibodies against 3ABC non-structural protein (NSP) of FMD virus, a cross-sectional study was conducted on dairy cattle in eight cities of Kurdistan Province from May to September 2016. Serum samples (n = 283), were collected from cattle vaccinated with the recommended dose of a commercial vaccine and tested by a Competition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results showed the overall seroprevalence of antibodies against NSP of FMD virus in the vaccinated cattle was 22.30% (95.00% CI: 17.40 - 27.20%). The seroprevalence of antibodies was affected by geographical regions, with the highest seroprevalence related to the samples of vaccinated cattle in the cities of Marivan 95.00% (95.00% CI: 92.50 - 97.50%) and Saqqez 38.50% (95.00% CI: 32.80 - 44.20%). In terms of age, the highest seroprevalence of antibodies to FMD virus 26.70% (95.00% CI: 21.60-31.80%) belonged to ≤ 24-month-old cattle. These findings suggest that the presence of NSP antibodies in vaccinated cattle indicates the risk of infection with FMD virus serotypes circulating in the west of the province, so further studies with a larger sample size are recommended.
Microbiology
Sushila Maan; Anita Dalal; Naresh Kumar Kakker; Deepika Chaudhary; Aman Kumar; Narender Singh Maan
Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 24 October 2023
Abstract
Abstract: World Organization for Animal Health has listed bluetongue (BT) under notifiable diseases. BT is an arboviral infectious disease of domestic and wild ruminants caused by the bluetongue virus (BTV). Southern states of India had remained the point of attention for BT since first presence in 1964 ...
Read More
Abstract: World Organization for Animal Health has listed bluetongue (BT) under notifiable diseases. BT is an arboviral infectious disease of domestic and wild ruminants caused by the bluetongue virus (BTV). Southern states of India had remained the point of attention for BT since first presence in 1964 in Maharashtra. Recently, northern states of India have also been reported positive for BTV in small ruminants. The present study reports the dual infection of BTV serotypes, BTV-12 and -16 in sheep population from Sirsa district of Haryana in the year 2016. After detection and serotyping with Seg-2 specific real time PCR, the Seg-2 and Seg-6 of BTV were PCR amplified and sequenced. On phylogenetic analysis it was detected to be clustered in Nucleotype G and Nucleotype B specific for BTV-12 and BTV-16, respectively. This is the first report of BTV-16 from Haryana. The results signify the co-infection of two different serotypes in an animal from a single outbreak.
Microbiology
Yongxiang Liu; Lide Qin; Xiaoliang Hu; Yanmei Jiang
Volume 14, Issue 11 , November 2023, , Pages 583-588
Abstract
Feline calicivirus (FCV) is a highly contagious pathogen seriously affecting the upper respiratory tract and producing oral diseases in the feline. Despite widespread vaccination, the prevalence of FCV remains high. In this study, the FCV qingdao (qd)/2019/china was isolated from a domestic feline oropharyngeal ...
Read More
Feline calicivirus (FCV) is a highly contagious pathogen seriously affecting the upper respiratory tract and producing oral diseases in the feline. Despite widespread vaccination, the prevalence of FCV remains high. In this study, the FCV qingdao (qd)/2019/china was isolated from a domestic feline oropharyngeal swab collected from Qingdao, China. The virus was purified using the plaque assay and identified using the Polymerase chain reaction and indirect immunofluorescence assay methods, the capsid amino acid, VP1 of qd/2019/china, showed sequence identity with the other isolates ranging between 83.90% (ym3/2001/jp) and 91.10% (CH-JL4). The sequence of the capsid amino acid revealed qd/2019/china to be closely related to CH-JL4 and clustered with CH-JL4 in the phylogenetic tree. The phylo-genetic analysis indicated that the complete genomes (GenBank® accession No. MZ322896) of qd/2019/china and CH-JL4 were also classified into the same cluster. The recombination analysis with Simplot indicated that the qd/2019/china originated from the recombination of CH-JL4 and HRB-SS, and the region 3,821 - 5,301 nt originated from HRB-SS. Further, the region 3,821 - 5,301 nt were found to belong to the protease-polymerase (PP) of HRB-SS. Here, we isolated a new recombinant virus, FCV qd/2019/china. Therefore, these results would be beneficial for better understanding of the evolution and epidemiology of FCV.
Microbiology
Mehrnoosh Gadir; Seyed Mahmoud Azimi; Naser Harzandi; Behzad Hemati; Neda Eskandarzade
Volume 14, Issue 11 , November 2023, , Pages 615-623
Abstract
Despite widespread vaccination against foot-and-mouth disease, many outbreaks still occur in endemic areas. We attempted to determine the genetic and antigenic properties of the O/PanAsia-2/QOM-15 foot-and-mouth disease virus new vaccine strain. Thus, whole-genome sequencing was used to identify vulnerable ...
Read More
Despite widespread vaccination against foot-and-mouth disease, many outbreaks still occur in endemic areas. We attempted to determine the genetic and antigenic properties of the O/PanAsia-2/QOM-15 foot-and-mouth disease virus new vaccine strain. Thus, whole-genome sequencing was used to identify vulnerable pinpoint sites across the genome. The VP1 sequence (1D gene) of the O/PanAsia-2/QOM-15 viral genome was then compared to the VP1 sequences of two previously used vaccine strains, O/PanAsia (JQ321837) and O/PanAsia-2 (JN676146). The antigenic relationship of these three viruses was calculated by the two dimensional-virus neutralization test. At the nucleotide level, 47 single variants were identified, of which 19.00% were in the 5' untranslated region (UTR), 79.00% in the polyprotein region, and 2.00% in the 3' UTR region. Approximately half of the single nucleotide polymorphisms that have occurred in 1D gene resulted in amino acid (AA) substitutions in the VP1 structure. The single nucleotide polymorphisms also caused AA substitutions in other structural proteins, including VP2 and VP3, and some non-structural proteins (Lpro, 2C, and 3A). The O/PanAsia-2/QOM-15 shared higher sequence similarity with O/PanAsia-2 (91.00%) compared to O/PanAsia (87.30%). Evaluating r-value showed that the antigenic relationship of O/PanAsia-2/QOM-15 with O/PanAsia-2 (29.00%) was greater than that of the O/PanAsia (24.00%); however, all three viruses were immunologically distinct. After 10 years, the alteration of virus antigenicity and the lack of detectable adaptive pressure on VP1 sequence suggest that studying genetic dynamics beyond the VP1 region is necessary to evaluate FMDV pathogenicity and vaccine failure.
Microbiology
Mohammad Tabatabaei; Fateme Abdolahi
Volume 14, Issue 9 , September 2023, , Pages 481-487
Abstract
Pasteurella multocida exists as a commensal in the upper respiratory tracts of livestock, and poultry, and causes a wide variety of diseases in humans and animals. This study aimed to investigate the incidence of P. multocida by bacteriological and molecular characterization in sheep and goats and screening ...
Read More
Pasteurella multocida exists as a commensal in the upper respiratory tracts of livestock, and poultry, and causes a wide variety of diseases in humans and animals. This study aimed to investigate the incidence of P. multocida by bacteriological and molecular characterization in sheep and goats and screening the existence of capsule-specific genes and their antibiotic resistance pattern. Totally, 1650 nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from apparently healthy sheep and goats and 460 lung tissues were collected from slaughtered animals in Fars province, Iran. All samples were cultured and suspected colonies were examined by biochemical tests, antimicrobial assay and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Among 165 P. multocida (104 sheep and 61 goats) isolates, the capA, capD, and capB genes were amplified in 98, 48, and 12 isolates, respectively. The occurrence of four virulence-associated genes of P. multocida isolates were determined by PCR. Most isolates harbored the toxA (79.40%) and hgbB genes (70.90%) and 59.40% of isolates had the pfhA gene. Almost half of the isolates (46.10%) contained the tbpA gene. According to the current study, P. multocida capsular type A had the most frequency followed by type D. In addition, the high frequency of tbpA, pfhA, toxA, and hgbB genes revealed that these genes are possibly important in the pathogenesis of P. multocida. Oxytetracycline, enrofloxacin, florfenicol, and tilmicosin were the most effective drugs.
Microbiology
Razieh Sadati; Nima Shaykh-Baygloo; Rasoul Shokri
Volume 14, Issue 9 , September 2023, , Pages 515-523
Abstract
Isolation of new microbial species from extreme environments is one of the most efficient approaches for the development of novel bioactive metabolites. The aim of the present study was to explore the pharmaceutical bacterial resources from the water and sediments of hypersaline Lake Urmia. Using different ...
Read More
Isolation of new microbial species from extreme environments is one of the most efficient approaches for the development of novel bioactive metabolites. The aim of the present study was to explore the pharmaceutical bacterial resources from the water and sediments of hypersaline Lake Urmia. Using different culture conditions and media led to the isolation of 20 bacterial strains. Halophilic bacteria were screened for the production of antibacterial agent against multi-drug resistant strains of Escherichia coli through agar well diffusion assay. Halophilic bacteria DNA extraction was done by boiling method. The results showed that two Halomonas strains, LUH16 and LUH20 identified by analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences were the potent producers of antimicrobial metabolites against various strains of E. coli. Furthermore, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed the presence of eight secondary metabolites with the relevant antimicrobial properties. Our findings led us to focus on Halomonas strains as potent producers of antimicrobial compound that might be an alternative against antibiotic-resistant pathogens such as pathogenic Escherichia coli.
Microbiology
Seyed Sajjad Babaeimarzangou; Manoochehr Allymehr; Aidin Molouki; Alireza Talebi; Mohammad Hossein Fallah Mehrabadi
Volume 14, Issue 8 , August 2023, , Pages 447-456
Abstract
Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is considered one of the most devastating avian viral patho-gens affecting the avian population, and it causes a significant economic burden on the poultry industry worldwide. The study aimed to gain deeper understanding of the molecular and phylogenetic analyses of the ...
Read More
Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is considered one of the most devastating avian viral patho-gens affecting the avian population, and it causes a significant economic burden on the poultry industry worldwide. The study aimed to gain deeper understanding of the molecular and phylogenetic analyses of the complete hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) coding region among NDV isolates. The samples were obtained from different parts of Iran from July 2017 to February 2020, were used for phylogenic analysis in this study. The results confirmed the predominance of sub-genotype VII.1.1, previously known as sub-genotype VIIL, which is circulating in commercial broiler farms of Iran. Identification of (a) an additional N-glycosylation site (NIS) at position 144; (b) mutations S315P and I369V which are related to increasing the viral thermostability; (C) cysteine residues at positions 123; (d) amino acid substitutions in the HN antigenic sites, especially the mutations I514V and E347Q, as well as the other mutant within HN binding sites of the VII.1.1 sub-genotype, suggests the idea that this new sub-genotype of NDV may possess a high level of pathogenicity and virulence compared to other NDV sub-genotypes. In conclusion, the results indicate the presence of an additional NIS at position 144, which may alter the virulence of the isolates. Furthermore, the presence of the thermostable mutations (S315P and I369V) and the other amino acid substitutions among the VII.1.1 sub-genotype isolates may have an impact on the vaccine immunity against this new NDV sub-genotype.
Microbiology
Dharitree Sonowal; Sandeep Ghatak; Acheenta Gohain Barua; Srinivas Kandhan; Razibuddin Ahmed Hazarika; Arnab Sen; Samir Das; Sarat Sonowal; Rajeev Kumar Sharma; Shantanu Tamuly; Chimanjita Phukan; Ajanta Sharma; Poznur Hussain
Volume 14, Issue 7 , July 2023, , Pages 351-358
Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus are Gram positive bacteria known to acquire antibiotic resistance rapidly and pose a major challenge to clinicians worldwide. Infections by methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are usually associated with increased mortality and prolonging of treatment. Samples (n ...
Read More
Staphylococcus aureus are Gram positive bacteria known to acquire antibiotic resistance rapidly and pose a major challenge to clinicians worldwide. Infections by methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are usually associated with increased mortality and prolonging of treatment. Samples (n = 706) from diverse sources (livestock, pets, animal handlers, human hospital) were collected and screened for the presence of MRSA by phenotypic and genotypic methods. The incidence of Staphylococcus aureus was greater in goats (42.00%; 28.20 - 56.80%, confidence interval [CI] 95.00%) followed by cattle (13.50%; 9.20 - 18.80%, CI 95.00%), humans (12.90%; 9.30 - 17.40%, CI 95.00%) and dogs (12.90%; 8.10 - 19.20%, CI 95.00%). Significantly higher incidence of MRSA was observed in dogs (65.00%; 40.80 - 84.60%, CI 95.00%), compared to other hosts namely cattle (48.00%; 26.50 - 64.30%, CI 95.00%), humans (35.00%; 20.20 - 52.50%, CI 95.00%) and goats (10.00%; 1.20 - 30.40%, CI 95.00%). All the S. aureus isolates were further screened for thermostable nuclease (nuc gene) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The incidence of nuc gene in cattle, dog, goat and human were found to be 3.30% (1.30 - 6.60%, CI 95.00%), 5.20% (2.30 - 9.90%, CI 95.00%), 28.00% (16.20 - 42.50%, CI 95.00%) and 9.10% (6.00 - 13.00%, CI 95.00%), respectively. Comparative evaluation of two PCR primers (mecA-162 and mecA-310) indicated the former one as more rational choice for detection of MRSA. Overall, the results of our study indicated possible risk of zoonotic transmission of MRSA from canines.
Microbiology
Maryam Dadar; Saeed Alamian; Ali Mohammad Behrozikhah; Freshteh Yazdani; Armin Kalantari; Afshar Etemadi; Adrian M. Whatmore
Volume 10, Issue 4 , December 2019, , Pages 315-321
Abstract
Brucellosis is a costly contagious disease of human, domestic and wild animals. It is a serious health problem in Iran causing significant economic losses therefore, control approaches to prevent its spread are of great importance. In Iran, the species and biovars of virulent Brucella species are still ...
Read More
Brucellosis is a costly contagious disease of human, domestic and wild animals. It is a serious health problem in Iran causing significant economic losses therefore, control approaches to prevent its spread are of great importance. In Iran, the species and biovars of virulent Brucella species are still under-reported due to the inadequate diagnostic protocols and insufficient laboratory facilities. The objective of this study was to characterize Brucella isolates obtained from passive animal and human surveillance in Iran from 2011 to 2018 in order to understand the current epidemiological situation of the disease. A total of 419 samples (milk, blood, cerebrospinal fluid, abomasum content and aborted fetus tissues) were collected from 65 cases/case series (human and animals) and examined bacteriologically. The initially identified Brucella isolates were further characterized using phenotypic and molecular approaches. All recovered isolates were either B. abortus or B. melitensis. The infection in sheep appeared to be exclusively associated with B. melitensis, but both B. abortus and B. melitensis were common in bovine samples. Samples from one sheep and one goat were confirmed to be infected by the B. melitensis vaccine strain Rev1. In spite of B. abortus burden in animals (14 cases in cattle and camel), brucellosis in human was predominantly associated with B. melitensis (15 cases). The results confirmed that B. melitensis biovar 1 and B. abortus biovar 3 remain the most prevalent biovars in Iran. This report builds a picture of the significance of different Brucella species in different hosts in Iran and provides applicable information for the healthcare professionals about the public health risks of brucellosis and relevant preventive strategies.
Microbiology
Meryem Cansu Yesiltas; Ilhan Altinok; Rafet Cagri Ozturk
Volume 10, Issue 2 , June 2019, , Pages 101-107
Abstract
Lactococcosis disease incident caused by Lactococcus garvieae has been increased with increasing aquaculture productions and outbreaks of the disease have become a threat on farmed species. To prevent lactococcosis, inactivated vaccine has been used, however, it only provides protection when given by ...
Read More
Lactococcosis disease incident caused by Lactococcus garvieae has been increased with increasing aquaculture productions and outbreaks of the disease have become a threat on farmed species. To prevent lactococcosis, inactivated vaccine has been used, however, it only provides protection when given by injection. Other than inactivated vaccine, various vaccines such as subunit vaccines can be developed. In the present study, total protein profile of 43 strains of L. garvieae isolated from fish, milk and cheese by SDS-PAGE and virulence associated immunogenic proteins of L. garvieae strains using western blot with hyper-immune rabbit sera were determined. After analyzing whole-cell lysate protein of L. garvieae strains with SDS-PAGE, protein bands were ranged between 8.00 and 140.00 kDA. Among strains, variable protein bands were ranged between 17.00 and 48.00 kDa with some variability in the staining intensity of the protein bands and formed in 6 clusters. The immunogenic protein bands were ranged between 25.00 - 75.00 kDa. Only a variable and highly immunogenic protein band was observed between 40.00 and 45.00 kDa. Most of the strain including Lgper had 44.00 kDa immunogenic protein while nonvirulent ATCC strain had 42.50 kDA immunogenic protein. Predominant immuno-reactive proteins encoded by genes can be used as a subunit vaccine.
Poultry
Guang Zhao; Tingting Huang; Di Wu; Liwu Zhang; Zeli Luo; Jia Liu; Xiaowei Yang
Volume 10, Issue 2 , June 2019, , Pages 169-172
Abstract
Duck beak atrophy and dwarfism syndrome (BADS) is a newly emerged disease in China since 2015. In October 2017, an unidentified disease occurred in Cherry Valley ducks, Chongqing municipality, the southwest of China. The affected birds showed short beak and growth retardation clinical signs. The disease ...
Read More
Duck beak atrophy and dwarfism syndrome (BADS) is a newly emerged disease in China since 2015. In October 2017, an unidentified disease occurred in Cherry Valley ducks, Chongqing municipality, the southwest of China. The affected birds showed short beak and growth retardation clinical signs. The disease caused approximately 20.00% morbidity and serious weight loss due to retarded growth. In order to identify the causative agent of BADS, liver, spleen, lung and heart samples were collected for virus isolation, hemagglutination test, PCR identification, and partial gene sequencing. The isolated virus was tentatively named SC16. Hemagglutination test indicated that the virus was negative to chicken red blood cells. Based on the PCR and sequencing results, the causative agent of BADS was a novel duck-origin goose parvovirus (DGPV) while no another co-infection pathogen was found in this case. Further analysis could provide insights into the control strategies of DGPV in ducks.
Microbiology
Siavash Maktabi; Masoud Ghorbanpoor; Masomeh Hossaini; Amirabbas Motavalibashi
Volume 10, Issue 1 , March 2019, , Pages 37-42
Abstract
Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli are the main causes of gastrointestinal diseases in humans even in industrialized countries affecting public health. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the occurrence and antibiotic resistance of C. jejuni and C. coli in chicken meat, beef, mutton and water ...
Read More
Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli are the main causes of gastrointestinal diseases in humans even in industrialized countries affecting public health. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the occurrence and antibiotic resistance of C. jejuni and C. coli in chicken meat, beef, mutton and water buffalo meat slaughtered in Ahvaz city, Iran. A total of 380 samples including chicken meat from industrial abattoirs (n = 150), chicken meat from traditional abattoirs (n = 50), fresh packed chicken meat from local markets (n = 30) and beef, mutton and water buffalo meat from industrial abattoirs (50 samples for each meat) in Ahvaz,were collected and tested for the presence of Campylobacter spp. The procedure was one-step enrichment in Preston enrichment broth followed by plating on supplemented blood agar for 24 hr under microaerophilic conditions at 42 ˚C. Suspected colonies were tested by polymerase chain reaction assay and susceptibility of the confirmed isolates to various antibiotics was investigated by the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Overall, 32 samples (8.40%) were contaminated with Campylobacter spp. Mutton was the most contaminated meat (24%), while fresh packed chicken meat were not contaminated. Among the 32 isolates, 40.60%, 34.40%, 21.90%, and 15.60% were resistant to tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, ampicillin, and streptomycin, respectively. Moreover, a high number of multi-antibiotic resistant Campylobacter spp. was determined. Since foods of animal origin are the most sources of Campylobacter infection, the presence of resistant strains to antibiotics is a potential risk to public health.
Microbiology
Soheila Najafi; Morad Rahimi; Zahra Nikousefat
Volume 10, Issue 1 , March 2019, , Pages 43-49
Abstract
Pathogenic Escherichia coli strains cause a wide range of extra intestinal infections including urinary tract infection in humans and colibacillosis in poultry. They are classified into uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) and avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC) with genetic similarities and variations. Their ...
Read More
Pathogenic Escherichia coli strains cause a wide range of extra intestinal infections including urinary tract infection in humans and colibacillosis in poultry. They are classified into uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) and avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC) with genetic similarities and variations. Their pathogenicity is related to the virulence-encoding genes like sfa, papG II, ompT, iutA, and iss with zoonotic potentials. One hundred isolated E. coli from patients with urinary tract infection and 100 E. coli from chickens with colibacillosis were evaluated for the presence of the most common virulence-encoding genes including sfa, papG II, ompT, iutA, and iss by multiplex polymerase chain reaction. While the frequency of sfa, papG II, ompT, iutA and iss encoding genes in APEC isolates were respectively 0.00%, 67.00%, 63.00%, 89.00% and 89.00%, the frequency of these encoding genes in UPEC isolates were 18.00%, 40.00%, 40.00%, 74.00% and 48.00%, respectively. Except for sfa, the frequencies of other encoding genes in APEC were more than those in UPEC isolates. The iutA as the most common UPEC encoding gene and iss as the most common APEC encoding gene were the most prevalent virulence factors in the examined E. coli isolates. Finding out the distribution of virulence-associated genes could be helpful to identify similarities and differences between APEC and UPEC isolates in order to provide more substantial evidence of their common virulence traits and potential zoonotic threats.
Microbiology
Jamshid Razmyar; Mahdis Ghavidel; Hamideh Salari Sedigh
Volume 10, Issue 1 , March 2019, , Pages 67-72
Abstract
Genus Brachyspira,as Gram negative anaerobic bacteria, colonize in dogs intestine. The aim of the current study was to determine the prevalence of Brachyspira spp. for the first time in Iran and rapid identification of Brachyspira spp. in dogs by a new designment of a species-specific primer set for ...
Read More
Genus Brachyspira,as Gram negative anaerobic bacteria, colonize in dogs intestine. The aim of the current study was to determine the prevalence of Brachyspira spp. for the first time in Iran and rapid identification of Brachyspira spp. in dogs by a new designment of a species-specific primer set for B. canis. One hundred fifty-one fecal samples were obtained from dogs by rectal swab. Twenty dogs suffered from diarrhea and 131 of them were healthy. In 9.27% (14/151) of samples, spirochaetes were detected on primary cultures by weak hemolysis and positive Gram staining and then Brachyspira genus was confirmed by NADH oxidase (nox) gene via polymerase chain reaction. Among 14 isolates, twelve isolates were B. canis, one isolate was B. intermedia and another one was non-typeable. From 12 B. canis, only eight isolates were detected by designed specific primers. Ten Brachyspira spp. were isolated from dogs ≤ 1 year old (10/67, 14.92%) and 4 isolates were from > 1 year old dogs (4/84, 4.76%). The isolation rates from healthy and diarrheic dogs were (12/131, 9.16%) and (2/20, 10.00%), respectively. A statistically significant association was observed between the presence of Brachyspira spp. and the age under one year. Based on our findings, the nox gene in B. canis might have more sequence variability compared to other Brachyspira spp.
Microbiology
Zahra Yadegari; Gholamreza Nikbakht Brujeni; Reyhaneh Ghorbanpour; Farhad Moosakhani; Samad Lotfollahzadeh
Volume 10, Issue 1 , March 2019, , Pages 73-78
Abstract
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) produces different virulence factors allowing the bacterium to colonize and develop watery diarrhea. Proteomics studies have also introduced new protein belonging to the secretion pathways, antigen 43 (Ag43), which plays important role in E. coli pathogenesis. ...
Read More
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) produces different virulence factors allowing the bacterium to colonize and develop watery diarrhea. Proteomics studies have also introduced new protein belonging to the secretion pathways, antigen 43 (Ag43), which plays important role in E. coli pathogenesis. The objective of this study was to investigate O-types and virulence factors of E. coli isolates from neonatal calves diarrhea. Total of 120 isolates from diarrheic calves were genotyped for their O groups and the presence of virulence genes K99, F41 and STa as well as Ag43. The predominant O-type was O101 (51.00%) and the prevalence of K99, F41 and STa was 7 (5.80%). The Ag43 was detected in all samples with three different allelic patterns. Our results indicated that K99 positive isolates certainly have one of each 2200 bp or 1800 bp or both copies of Ag43 passenger domain, while negative K99 isolates lack the Ag43. The results reported here provide informative data regarding the prevalence of E. coli O-types and their virulence factors in enteric colibacillosis. The Ag43 that was more found in K99 positive isolates might be associated with diarrhea-causing E. coli strains in neonatal calves.
Microbiology
Javad Aliakbarlu; Sindokht Ghiasi; Behnaz Bazargani-Gilani
Volume 9, Issue 4 , December 2018, , Pages 361-365
Abstract
Barberry fruit is consumed in different forms including dried fruit, juice, jam and marmalade in Iran. This fruit is also used as a food additive (flavoring and colorant) in soup and rice dishes. In present study, antioxidant activities of acetone, ethanol and water (infusion and decoction) extracts ...
Read More
Barberry fruit is consumed in different forms including dried fruit, juice, jam and marmalade in Iran. This fruit is also used as a food additive (flavoring and colorant) in soup and rice dishes. In present study, antioxidant activities of acetone, ethanol and water (infusion and decoction) extracts of barberry (Berberis vulgaris) fruit were investigated using 2,2-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and reducing power methods. Total phenolic contents of the extracts were also estimated using Folin-Ciocalteu assay. In ABTS assay, acetone and ethanol extracts showed the highest radical scavenging activity, while in DPPH and reducing power methods, acetone extract and decoction exhibited the strongest antioxidant activity. Meanwhile, the antioxidant potential of water extracts increased with increasing heating time (antioxidant activity of decoction was higher than that of infusion). The highest total phenolic content was found in the acetone extract (92.75 mg GAE per g). It was concluded that the acetone extract and decoction of barberry fruit can be used as an effective natural antioxidant in food industry.
Poultry
Saeed Seifi; Hojjatollah Shokri; Mahvash Karimi Madab
Volume 9, Issue 4 , December 2018, , Pages 373-378
Abstract
Fungal infections cause significant economic losses in the poultry industry either due to their direct infectious nature or due to mycotoxins production. Hatchery contamination with fungi can threaten chicken health. In this regard, geographical and seasonal distributions of airborne fungal contamination ...
Read More
Fungal infections cause significant economic losses in the poultry industry either due to their direct infectious nature or due to mycotoxins production. Hatchery contamination with fungi can threaten chicken health. In this regard, geographical and seasonal distributions of airborne fungal contamination of 25 hatcheries in Mazandaran province, northern Iran, were investigated using an open plate method. The results of this study showed that hatcheries have various fungal contaminations, among which the most common were respectively Cladosporium (31.07%), Penicillium (24.00%), Aspergillus (20.63%), sterile hyphae (14.70%) and Alternaria (6.20%) from different regions. The results revealed that the highest level of fungal isolation was in spring and autumn. This study also showed that the concentration of fungal air spora in forest and seaside locations was significantly greater than mountainous ones. In spite of the regular disinfection in commercial hatcheries, fungal contamination was found in different parts.
Microbiology
Akbar Asadi; Taghi Zahraei Salehi; Mahmoud Jamshidian; Reza Ghanbarpour
Volume 9, Issue 3 , September 2018, , Pages 211-216
Abstract
Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) are responsible for wide ranges of extra-intestinal diseases in poultry including colibacillosis, cellulitis, coligranuloma and yolk sac infection. Numbers of virulence are considered important in the pathogenicity of these diseases. The aims of the present study ...
Read More
Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) are responsible for wide ranges of extra-intestinal diseases in poultry including colibacillosis, cellulitis, coligranuloma and yolk sac infection. Numbers of virulence are considered important in the pathogenicity of these diseases. The aims of the present study were phylogenetic typing and virulence genes detection in Escherichia coli isolates from colibacillosis and cellulitis of broiler chickens in poultry slaughterhouses of Shahrbabak region, Kerman, Iran. A total number of eighty three E. coli isolates were taken from broiler chickens with colibacillosis and thirty four isolates were taken from carcasses with cellulitis in the industrial slaughterhouses. Biochemically confirmed E. coli isolates were subjected to polymerase chain reaction assay to determine phylogenetic groups and presence of pap C, sfa/focDE, iucD, afaIB-C, hlyA, fimH and crl virulence genes. Colibacillosis isolates were belonged to A (54.21%), B1 (7.22%), B2 (6.03%) and D (32.53%) phylogroups. Whereas, the isolates from cellulitis cases were belonged to three main phylogroups; A (55.88%), B1 (5.88%) and D (38.24%). Statistical analysis showed a specific association between the presence of crl virulence gene and phylogroups of A and D in colibacillosis isolates. The results showed that the isolates from both diseases in broiler chickens could be assigned to various phylogenetic groups (mainly A(. Also, the virulence genes profile of cellulitis E. coli is completely different from that of colibacillosis in this region.
Large Animal Internal Medicine
Abdollah Derakhshandeh; Fatemeh Namazi; Elmira Khatamsaz; Vida Eraghi; Zahra Hemati
Volume 9, Issue 3 , September 2018, , Pages 253-257
Abstract
In the present study, Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) was investigated in goats slaughtered in Shiraz abattoir using histopathological examinations and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Ilium and mesenteric lymph node samples from 66 suspected goat carcasses to Johne’s disease ...
Read More
In the present study, Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) was investigated in goats slaughtered in Shiraz abattoir using histopathological examinations and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Ilium and mesenteric lymph node samples from 66 suspected goat carcasses to Johne’s disease were collected. Among 66 examined slaughtered goats, nine (13.63%) goats were positive for MAP in both histopathological and PCR examinations. Eight goats were positive in PCR method while no lesion related to Johne’s disease was observed in their histopathological sections. All positive goats in histopathological examination were also positive in PCR. Based on the results of PCR, the detection rate of MAP in Shiraz abattoir was 25.80% (17 goats). According to the present findings, although both histopathological and PCR methods are appropriate for detecting Johne’s disease, PCR is more sensitive than histopathological examination.
Microbiology
zahra boroomand; Ramezan Ali Jafari; Mansour Mayahi
Volume 9, Issue 3 , September 2018, , Pages 279-283
Abstract
Infectious bronchitis (IB) is a highly contagious disease involving mostly upper respiratory tract in chickens, leading to significant economic losses in the poultry industry worldwide. One of the major concerns regarding to IB is the emergence of new types of infectious bronchitis viruses (IBVs). The ...
Read More
Infectious bronchitis (IB) is a highly contagious disease involving mostly upper respiratory tract in chickens, leading to significant economic losses in the poultry industry worldwide. One of the major concerns regarding to IB is the emergence of new types of infectious bronchitis viruses (IBVs). The purpose of this study was to identify the IBVs isolated from Iranian broiler chickens with respiratory symptoms. Twenty-five broiler flocks around Ahwaz (southwest of Iran) were examined for IBV. The specimens including trachea, lung, liver, kidney, and ceacal tonsil, were collected from diseased birds and inoculated into chicken embryonated eggs. Harvested allantoic fluids were subjected to reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using primers in order to amplify spike 1 (S1) gene of IBV. The RT-PCR products of four IBV isolates were sequenced. The results showed that from 25 examined flocks with respiratory disease, 12 flocks (48.00%) were positive for IBV. In phylogenetic analysis, our isolates were closely related to the QX-like viruses such as PCRLab/06/2012 (Iran), QX, HC9, HC10, CK/CH/GX/NN11-1, CK/CH/JS/YC11-1, CK/CH/JS/2010/13, CK/CH/JS/2011/2 (China), QX/SGK-21, QX/SGK-11 (Iraq) with nucleotide homology up to 99.00%. This study indicates the role of IBVs in the respiratory disorders of broiler flocks located in southwest Iran, and also the existence of a variant of IBV, which is distinguishable from the other Iranian variants.
Microbiology
Amin Gholamhosseini; Vahideh Taghadosi; Nima Shiry; Mostafa Akhlaghi; Hassan Sharifiyazdi; Siyavash Soltanian; Nasrollah Ahmadi
Volume 9, Issue 2 , June 2018, , Pages 113-119
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to isolate and identify the pathogenic agents in Acipenser stellatus (Pallas, 1771) and Huso huso, (Linnaeus, 1758) reared in the south of Fars province, Iran which have shown infectious disease signs. Samples from spleen and kidney of 32 fishes showing septicemia ...
Read More
The purpose of the present study was to isolate and identify the pathogenic agents in Acipenser stellatus (Pallas, 1771) and Huso huso, (Linnaeus, 1758) reared in the south of Fars province, Iran which have shown infectious disease signs. Samples from spleen and kidney of 32 fishes showing septicemia symptoms such as decreasing of appetite, unbalanced swimming, expanded wounds, and petechia on the body surfaces, pectoral fins rot, visceral hemorrhage, bleeding on the spleen, and heart ascites were collected. Then samples were cultured on brain heart infusion agar growth media, stain and biological and biochemical tests on purified bacteria were performed. On the other hand, 16S rDNA region of the isolated organism was amplified using PCR. The amplified gene fragment was sequenced and evolutionary history was inferred by phylogenetic tree construction using neighbor-joining method. Results indicated that two bacterial species including Chryseobacterium joostei which isolated from the kidney of stellate sturgeon (43.00%), and Aeromonas veronii which isolated from the spleen of both sturgeon species (75.00% and 31.00% from beluga and stellate sturgeon, respectively), were recognized. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that Fars isolated organisms including A. veronii and C. joostei had highest similarity with A. veronii bv veronii and C. joostei isolated from France, respectively.
Large Animal Internal Medicine
Hiwa Baraz; Hossein Jahani-Azizabadi; Osman Azizi
Volume 9, Issue 2 , June 2018, , Pages 193-198
Abstract
Two trials were conducted to investigate the effects of disodium fumarate (DSF; 0.00, 8.00, 10.00 and 12.00 mM) and thyme essential oil (TEO; 0.00, 100.00, 200.00, 300.00 and 400.00 µL L-1) solely and simultaneously (10.00 mM DSF along with 100.00, 200.00, 300.00 and 400 µL L-1 TEO) on in ...
Read More
Two trials were conducted to investigate the effects of disodium fumarate (DSF; 0.00, 8.00, 10.00 and 12.00 mM) and thyme essential oil (TEO; 0.00, 100.00, 200.00, 300.00 and 400.00 µL L-1) solely and simultaneously (10.00 mM DSF along with 100.00, 200.00, 300.00 and 400 µL L-1 TEO) on in vitro ruminal fermentation of a 50:50 alfalfa hay to concentrate diet. The DSF and TEO did not affect crude protein disappearance, gas production, microbial crude protein synthesis and hydrogen recovery. The DSF addition linearly increased partitioning factor (PF) and molar proportion of propionate and decreased acetate: propionate ratio and methane production. Moreover, 100.00 µL L-1 of TEO decreased ammonia nitrogen, total volatile fatty acids concentration and methane production and increased PF compared to the control. Results of the present study demonstrated that simultaneous use of DSF and TEO can cause a further decrease in methane production and linearly increase in the molar proportion of propionate and efficiency of feed use compared to DSF and TEO solely.
Microbiology
Ali Ehsani; Omar Alizadeh; Mohammad Hashemi; Asma Afshari; Majid Aminzare
Volume 8, Issue 3 , September 2017, , Pages 223-229
Abstract
Aromatic plants are rich in essential oils with considerable antimicrobial properties.The aim of this study was to investigate chemical composition, antimicrobial activity and antioxidant properties of Melissa officinalis and Deracocephalum moldavica essential oils (EOs). The identification of chemical ...
Read More
Aromatic plants are rich in essential oils with considerable antimicrobial properties.The aim of this study was to investigate chemical composition, antimicrobial activity and antioxidant properties of Melissa officinalis and Deracocephalum moldavica essential oils (EOs). The identification of chemical constituents of the EOs was carried out using gas chromato-graphy-mass spectrometry analysis and antimicrobial activity of the EOs was evaluated by disc diffusion assay as well as determination of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration against four important food-borne bacteria: Salmonella typhimorium, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. Antioxidant activity of the EOs was also determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, 2,2-azinobis 3-ethylbenzo thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid and β-carotene bleaching tests. The major compounds of D. moldavica were geranial (28.52%), neral (21.21%), geraniol (19.60%), geranyl acetate (16.72%) and the major compounds of M. officinalis EO were citronellal (37.33%), thymol (11.96%), citral (10.10%) and β-caryophyllene (7.27%). The underlying results indicated strong antimicrobial effects of the oils against tested bacteria. Staphylococcus aureus with the lowest MIC value (0.12 mg mL-1) for both EOs was the most sensitive bacterium, although, antibacterial effect of M. officinalis EO was stronger than D. moldavica. In addition, the results of the antioxidant activity showed that both EOs had notable antioxidant properties. In conclusion, both EOs are appropriate alternatives as potential sources of natural preservative agents with the aim of being applied in food industries.
