Identification of the molecular mechanisms governing the osmotolerance of the emerging gastrointestinal pathogen Cronobacter sakazakii /
Audrey Feeney.
- 156 pages : illustrations (some color), tables ; 30 cm
- Ph.D. - Biological Sciences .
Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cork Institute of Technology, 2015.
Bibliography: p. 140-155.
Cronobacter sakazakii is an organism which has been associated with severe life threatening diseases in infants and neonates. Mortality rates of up to 80% have been recorded in infants infected with Cronobacter sakazakii. Infants often suffer from septicaemia, necrotising enterocolitis and meningitis as a result of infection. A characteristic feature of the opportunistic foodborne pathogen Cronobacter sakazakii is its ability to survive in extremely arid environments such as powered infant formula, making it a dangerous opportunistic pathogen of neonates. Herein, we provide a brief overview of the pathogen, clinical manifestations, environmental reservoirs and our current understanding of stress response mechanisms and virulence factors which allow it to cause disease. The work presented in this thesis represents a significant contribution to the field of C. sakazakii osmotolerence research. In 2010, when this research began, the first C. sakazkaii genome was sequenced and it marked the beginning of the elucidation of the survival of this neonatal pathogen in PIF (powdered infant formula) and the mechanisms that facilitate the survival of the organism as it navigates the varying osmolality of the infant gastrointestinal tract. While this thesis has identified and characterised the osmotolerance loci of C. sakazakii, we recognise that the story is by no means complete. The identification of multiple ProP homologues on the C. sakazakii genome is a unique feature, coupled with the structural degeneracy between these compatible solute transport systems. - (Author's abstract)