000 03866nam a2200313 a 4500
008 2016
082 0 4 _aTHESES PRESS
100 1 _aEndersen, Lorraine,
_eauthor.
245 1 0 _aExploiting bacteriophages and associated peptidoglycan hydrolases with potential for biocontrol in food related applications /
_cLorraine Endersen.
264 1 _aCork :
_bCork Institute of Technology,
_c2015.
300 _av, 477 pages :
_bcolor illustrations, diagrams, graphs, tables ;
_c30 cm
336 _atext
_btxt
_2rdacontent
337 _aunmediated
_bn
_2rdamedia
338 _avolume
_bnc
_2rdacarrier
490 0 _aPh.D. - Biological Sciences
502 _aThesis (Ph.D.) - Cork Institute of Technology, 2015.
504 _aIncludes bibliographical references.
520 _aThe work presented in this thesis describes the isolation and characterisation of novel bacteriophages, and the subsequent exploitation of their bactericidal properties against two opportunistic food related pathogens, Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) and Cronobacter sakazakii. MAP is a proven animal pathogen known to cause Johne's disease in cattle but has been implicated as a causative agent of Crohn's disease in humans. Despite the fact that this association has yet to be proven, significant focus has been directed towards evaluating the consequences of consuming milk contaminated with MAP. Accordingly, six mycobacteriophages were isolated and characterised in terms of temperature and pH stability, and were subsequently demonstrated both individually and in combination to be active at inhibiting the growth of a variety of bovine MAP isolates, to varying degrees. In addition, the anti-mycobacterial efficacy of these phages was also demonstrated against the faster growing, non pathogenic surrogate strain, M. smegmatis, in reconstituted skim milk. Cronobacter sakazakii is an opportunistic foodborne pathogen that is responsible for causing necrotising enterocolitis, meningitis and bacteraemia in low birth weight infant and neonates with high mortality. In recent years, the microbiological safety of powdered infant formula has become the focus of much scientific research due to the identification of contaminating C. sakazakii and its epidemiological link with life threatening neonatal infections. In response to this, Cronobacter phage vB_CsaP_Ss1 was isolated from soil and its genome was sequenced and annotated which resulted in the identification of a putative endolysin that was subsequently cloned, expressed, purified and demonstrated to be effective at hydrolysing the peptidoglycan of C. sakazakii and other Gram-negative food related pathogens. Three additional phages were also isolated, characterised and demonstrated in combination, to be effective at controlling C. sakazakii in different brands of infant formula. Furthermore, the anti-biofilm properties of the combined phage preparation was also demonstrated. The remaining work in this thesis focused on harnessing a bacterial-derived peptidoglycan hydrolase from C. sakazakii for biocontrol of this infant formula pathogen and other related Gram-negative bacteria. In addition, the application of a novel strategy to overcome the limitations associated with the exogenous use of peptidoglycan hydrolases against Gram-negative bacteria was also investigated. - (Author's abstract)
650 0 _aBacteriophages.
_952169
650 0 _aMycobacterium avium paratuberculosis.
_993631
650 0 _aEnterobacter sakazakii.
_9107285
650 0 _aPeptidoglycans
_9118288
650 0 _aPathogenic microorganisms.
_939908
650 0 _aInfant formulas
_xContamination.
_9118273
650 0 _aGram-negative bacteria.
_937876
907 _a.b11192598
_b160422
_c160419
942 _n0
998 _ac
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999 _c104536
_d104536