Potential Virulence and Survival of Acid-Resistant Bacillus cereus KS100Bc Isolated from Foodservice Establishments in Korea
Bacillus cereus is an opportunistic pathogen causing food poisoning manifested by diarrheal or emetic syndromes. This study aimed to examine the potential virulence and survival of acid-resistant B. cereus strains isolated from foodservice establishments in schools. All isolates were positive for ge...
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Food Protection |
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| author | Seung Min Kim Daekeun Hwang Hyun Jung Kim |
| author_facet | Seung Min Kim Daekeun Hwang Hyun Jung Kim |
| author_sort | Seung Min Kim |
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| description | Bacillus cereus is an opportunistic pathogen causing food poisoning manifested by diarrheal or emetic syndromes. This study aimed to examine the potential virulence and survival of acid-resistant B. cereus strains isolated from foodservice establishments in schools. All isolates were positive for genes encoding nonhemolytic enterotoxin complexes, except for one strain that lacked nheC. More than 80% of the strains harbored enterotoxigenic genes. In contrast, cesB, which encodes an emetic toxin, was not detected. Among the isolates, the biofilm-forming activity of KS100Bc strain was 8.4 times higher than that of the type strain; therefore, KS100Bc was selected for further analyses. The KS100Bc survived in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) at pH 2.0 for 120 min, which is a major host barrier against exogenous microorganisms. The parameter Kmax of the log-linear + tail model for ATCC 14579 was up to1.31-fold higher than that for KS100Bc in SGF, indicating that it is difficult to inactivate KS100Bc in acidic gastric environments. Although whole-genome sequencing identified nucleotide sequences with high homology (>99%) between ATCC 14579 and KS100Bc, significant differences were observed in phenotypes such as biofilm formation and survival in SGF. The transcriptional profiles were compared to examine the differences in the response to acid shock. KS100Bc exhibited increased expression of genes associated with pH homeostasis, oxidative response, metabolic rearrangements, and general stress response with over twofold (P value < 0.05) relative gene expression compared with the type strain. These results suggest that identifying the characteristics of the acid-adapted isolate can broaden our understanding of therapeutic strategies and provide new directions for controlling and preventing the spread of an outbreak. |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| series | Journal of Food Protection |
| spelling | doaj-art-6646917cde664933aaefbbed2cfc6b092025-01-09T06:12:35ZengElsevierJournal of Food Protection0362-028X2025-01-01881100421Potential Virulence and Survival of Acid-Resistant Bacillus cereus KS100Bc Isolated from Foodservice Establishments in KoreaSeung Min Kim0Daekeun Hwang1Hyun Jung Kim2Division of Human Ecology, Korea National Open University, Seoul 03087, Republic of Korea; Food Safety Research Group, Korea Food Research Institute, Wanju 55365, Republic of KoreaFood Safety Research Group, Korea Food Research Institute, Wanju 55365, Republic of Korea; Department of Food Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Republic of KoreaFood Safety Research Group, Korea Food Research Institute, Wanju 55365, Republic of Korea; Department of Food Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea; Corresponding author at: Food Safety Research Group, Korea Food Research Institute (KFRI), 245, Nongsaengmyeong-ro, Iseo-myeon, Wanju-gun, Jeollabuk-do 55365, Republic of Korea.Bacillus cereus is an opportunistic pathogen causing food poisoning manifested by diarrheal or emetic syndromes. This study aimed to examine the potential virulence and survival of acid-resistant B. cereus strains isolated from foodservice establishments in schools. All isolates were positive for genes encoding nonhemolytic enterotoxin complexes, except for one strain that lacked nheC. More than 80% of the strains harbored enterotoxigenic genes. In contrast, cesB, which encodes an emetic toxin, was not detected. Among the isolates, the biofilm-forming activity of KS100Bc strain was 8.4 times higher than that of the type strain; therefore, KS100Bc was selected for further analyses. The KS100Bc survived in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) at pH 2.0 for 120 min, which is a major host barrier against exogenous microorganisms. The parameter Kmax of the log-linear + tail model for ATCC 14579 was up to1.31-fold higher than that for KS100Bc in SGF, indicating that it is difficult to inactivate KS100Bc in acidic gastric environments. Although whole-genome sequencing identified nucleotide sequences with high homology (>99%) between ATCC 14579 and KS100Bc, significant differences were observed in phenotypes such as biofilm formation and survival in SGF. The transcriptional profiles were compared to examine the differences in the response to acid shock. KS100Bc exhibited increased expression of genes associated with pH homeostasis, oxidative response, metabolic rearrangements, and general stress response with over twofold (P value < 0.05) relative gene expression compared with the type strain. These results suggest that identifying the characteristics of the acid-adapted isolate can broaden our understanding of therapeutic strategies and provide new directions for controlling and preventing the spread of an outbreak.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X24002059Acid-resistant isolatesBacillus cereusBiofilmFoodservice establishmentSurvival |
| spellingShingle | Seung Min Kim Daekeun Hwang Hyun Jung Kim Potential Virulence and Survival of Acid-Resistant Bacillus cereus KS100Bc Isolated from Foodservice Establishments in Korea Journal of Food Protection Acid-resistant isolates Bacillus cereus Biofilm Foodservice establishment Survival |
| title | Potential Virulence and Survival of Acid-Resistant Bacillus cereus KS100Bc Isolated from Foodservice Establishments in Korea |
| title_full | Potential Virulence and Survival of Acid-Resistant Bacillus cereus KS100Bc Isolated from Foodservice Establishments in Korea |
| title_fullStr | Potential Virulence and Survival of Acid-Resistant Bacillus cereus KS100Bc Isolated from Foodservice Establishments in Korea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Potential Virulence and Survival of Acid-Resistant Bacillus cereus KS100Bc Isolated from Foodservice Establishments in Korea |
| title_short | Potential Virulence and Survival of Acid-Resistant Bacillus cereus KS100Bc Isolated from Foodservice Establishments in Korea |
| title_sort | potential virulence and survival of acid resistant bacillus cereus ks100bc isolated from foodservice establishments in korea |
| topic | Acid-resistant isolates Bacillus cereus Biofilm Foodservice establishment Survival |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X24002059 |
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