Insights into Cronobacter sakazakii Biofilm Formation and Control Strategies in the Food Industry

Cronobacter sakazakii(C.sakazakii)is a foodborne opportunistic pathogen that can cause life-threatening invasive diseases,such as necrotizing enterocolitis,meningitis,and sepsis in infants.The potential risk of C.sakazakii contamination of powdered infant formula(PIF)is an issue that has attracted considerable attention from manufacturers,regulators,and consumers.C.sakazakii biofilms on the surfaces of equipment and in diverse food-production environments constitute a mode of cell growth that protects the pathogen from hostile environments,and are an important source of persistent contamination of food products.Bacterial biofilms are difficult to remove due to their resistant properties.Conventional cleaning and sterilizing procedures may be insufficient for biofilm control,and may lead to further biofilm development and dispersal.Consequently,novel control strategies are being developed,such as nanotechnology-based delivery systems,interspecies interactions,antimicrobial molecules of microbial origin,natural extracts,and phages.This review focuses on describing the mechanisms underlying the biofilm formation and behavior of C.sakazakii and discussing potential control strategies.

Examine the Correlation between Heat Shock Protein IbpA and Heat Tolerance in Cronobacter sakazakii

We used a proteomic approach to identify IbpA in Cronobacter sakazokii （C. sakazaki）, which is related to heat tolerance in this strain. The abundance of IbpA in C. sakazakii strains strongly increased after heat shock. C sakazakii CMCC 45402 ibpA deletion mutants were successfully constructed. The C. sakazakii CMCC 45402 AibpA and wild-type strains could not be distinguished based on colony morphology on LB agar plates or biochemical assays. The growth of the C. sakazakii CMCC 45402 AibpA mutant in heat shock conditions was indistinguishable from that of the isogenic wild-type, but showed greater heat resistance than E. coil O157：H7 strain CMCC 44828. This study suggests that the absence of a single ibpA gene has no obvious effect on the phenotype or heat resistance of the strain C. sakazakii CMCC 45402.

Establishment of Real-Time Quantitative PCR Method for the Determination of Transposon Copy Number in Cronobacter sakazakii

[Objective] This study aimed to establish a Real-Time quantitative PCR method for the determination of transposon copy number in C. sakazakii. [ Method ] With single-copy housekeeping gene atpD as the reference gene, recombinant plasmid containing both single-copy housekeeping gene atpD and EZ-TN5 transposon was constructed; based on the established standard curves for real-time quantitative detection of atpD gene and EZ-TN5 transposon, copy number of atpD gene and EZ-TN5 transpason in three C. sakazakii mutants was detected and the ratio was calculated. [ Result] Correlation coefficients of the standard curves for real-time quantitative detection of atpD gene and EZ-TN5 transposon were 0. 999 and 0.998, respectively ; the ratios of copy number of atpD gene and EZ-TN5 transposon in three C. sakazakii mutants were 0.98, 1.17 and 0.91, respectively, which indicates that EZ-TN5 transpeson in C. sakakii mutants is a single-copy. [ Conclusion] Real-time quantitative PCR method established in this study had high availability and could replace the Southern blot method to detect the copy num- ber of EZ-TN5 transposon in different bacteria.

Failure of Cronobacter sakazakii to acquire direct and cross-protection against lethal stresses after exposure to sublethal ethanol

Cronobacter sakazakii may encounter subinhibitory concentrations of ethanol stress over its lifecycle.Bacterial tolerance to homologous or heterologous stress agents may be altered as a result of ethanol adaptive responses.Therefore,the tolerance of ethanol-exposed and control cells to subsequent lethal stresses was evaluated in the current work.It was discovered that sublethal ethanol exposure increased the susceptibility to lethal ethanol stress in C.sakazakii as determined by the Weibull model.Furthermore,sublethal ethanol concentration exposure in C.sakazakii did not lead to any cross-tolerance against other stressors such as benzalkonium chloride(120 mg/L),heat(55°C),cold(4°C),simulated gastric fuid(pH 3.0),osmotic stress(sorbitol,0.75 g/mL),and desiccation stress.Analysis of zeta potential,scanning electron microscope,and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy spectra revealed that cellular injury and changes in cellular chemical composition may contribute to the reduced resistance of C.sakazakii after ethanol exposure.Furthermore,sublethal ethanol exposure resulted in an elevated proportion of unsaturated fatty acids(USFA),while reducing the proportion of saturated fatty acids(SFA)and the ratio of SFA to USFA.The developed inactivation models can serve as a valuable source of data to support quantitative microbial risk assessment.Moreover,a better understanding of the response of C.sakazakii to sublethal ethanol exposure may provide valuable insights into the prevention and control of C.sakazakii.

Unusual metallo-β-lactamases may constitute a new subgroup in this family of enzymes

Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) are a family of Zn2+-dependent enzymes that have contributed strongly to the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance. Novel members as well as variants of existing members of this family are discovered continuously, compounding their threat to global health care. MBLs are divided into three subgroups, i.e. B1, B2 and B3. The recent discovery of an unusual MBL from Serratia proteamaculans (SPR-1) suggests the presence of an additional subgroup, i.e. B4. A database search reveals that SPR-1 has only one homologue from Cronobacter sakazakii, CSA-1.These two MBLs have a unique active site and may employ a mechanism distinct from other MBLs, but reminiscent of some organophosphate-degrading hydrolases.