Formation of Biofilms by Foodborne Pathogens and Development of Laboratory In Vitro Model for the Study of Campylobacter Genus Bacteria Based on These Biofilms.

We analyzed the formation of biofilms by 7 strains of Campylobacter genus bacteria and 18 strains of Enterobacteriaceae genus bacteria that were isolated from plant and animal raw materials, from finished products, and swabs from the equipment of the food industry. Biofilm formation on glass plates, slides and coverslips, microtubes made of polymeric materials and Petri dishes, and polystyrene plates of different profiles were analyzed. When studying the process of films formation, different effects on bacterial populations were simulated, including variation of growth factor composition of culture media, technique of creating of anaerobiosis, and biocide treatment (active chlorine solutions in a concentration of 100 mg/dm3). The formation of biofilms by the studied cultures was assessed by the formation of extracellular matrix stained with aniline dyes on glass and polystyrene surfaces after incubation; 0.1% crystal violet solution was used as the dye. The presence and density of biomatrix were assessed by staining intensity of the surfaces of contact with broth cultures or by optical density of the stained inoculum on a spectrophotometer. Biofilms were formed by 57% Campylobacter strains and 44% Enterobacteriaceae strains. The intensity of the film formation depended on culturing conditions and protocols, species and genus of studied isolates, and largely on adhesion properties of abiotic surfaces. In 30% of Enterobacteriaceae strains, the biofilm formation capacity tended to increase under the influence of chlorine-containing biocide solutions. Thus, we developed and tested under laboratory conditions a plate version of in vitro chromogenic model for evaluation of biofilm formation capacity of C. jejuni strains and studied stress responses to negative environmental factors.

[Optimization of microbiological methods for food control based on the differential-diagnostic media for the isolation and cultivation of bacteria of the genus Campylobacter].

А screening study on the detection of campylobacteria in raw food products, semi-finished products and objects in the external environment in the poultry processing industry was conducted. The highest level of detection of campylobacteria is set for raw poultry products, including carcasses of broilers, turkeys and quail. A general accordance of getting Campylobacter in raw materials and food products with inadequate sanitary treatment of separate areas of production has been established: in most cases Campylobacter spp. was extracted from the samples, contaminated with coliform bacteria and Salmonella. It is shown that the frequency of contamination of raw poultry with pathogens is largely dependent on the cooling of the carcasses. When using the immersion method, the conditions for cross contamination with pathogens through water bath cooling are present (45% of samples infected with Campylobacter spp.). Under combined use of super-cooled water and aerosols Campylobacter were also detected quite often in 27% of samples. Contamination by pathogens was the lowest in evaporative cooling method with the use of antimicrobial hydrospray (less than 5% positive samples), allowing to recognize this method as the most promising for the production of microbiological safe products. The work on optimization of nutrient medium composition and adaptation recommended methodological scheme of analysis for detection and species identification of bacteria of the genus Campylobacter was carried out. Formulation of traditionally used growth media was modified, and balanced composition of growth and selective components was matched in accordance with the requirements of existing standards. Given the urgency of increasing the effectiveness of the methods of control of campylobacteria in foods and the lack of domestic analogues of the culture media in the Russian Federation, an optimized method for the production of dry nutrient media for the detection, identification and storage of campylobacteria isolated from food products and clinical material was developed. The conducted study allowed to develop Technical conditions 21.20.23-006-01897222-2016 «Dry culture medium for detection of bacteria of the genus Campylobacter¼ and «Instruction for use of culture media¼. Depending on the purpose of the medium produced in the following versions: the selective broth for enrichment of campylobacteria; differential selective agar for isolating and quantifying of Campylobacter spp.; semi-solid nutrient agar for cryostorage of Campylobacter strains. The list of criteria for assessing the quality of commercially available lots of dry media included: solubility, pH, gel strength of agar, the content of amine nitrogen, specificity, selectivity, growth and inhibitory properties. The practical application of these media in terms of the national laboratories will significantly simplify the use of existing standards developed based on international ISO standards, but not adapted to the main range of commercial media and reagents used in routine food control for the presence of campylobacteria.

[Antibiotic resistance of Campylobacter jejuni strains isolated from food products].

Campylobacter jejuni is a leading member of the genus Campylobacter which cause up to 90% of laboratory confirmed cases of campylobacteriosis. The most important characteristic defining the biological features of C. jejuni is their sensitivity to antibiotics. Agricultural intensification, expansion of the range of the used disinfectants and antiseptics, uncontrolled use of antibiotics in animal production is increasingly leading to the selection of the most resistant forms of Campylobacter with antibiotic resistance and multiple virulence factors. The study of antibiotic resistance of C. jejuni isolated from food and environment need for the development of new approaches for laboratory diagnosis of campylobacteriosis and confirmation of the role of food path of transmission, for creation the system of preventive measures to reduce the risk of contamination of food by Campylobacter spp. in Russia. The aim of this study was to investigate the phenotypic profiles of antibiotic resistance of Campylobacter spp. isolated from poultry and the environment in the poultry processing industry. In the analysis of 110 samples of raw poultry products and swabs from surfaces of the equipment 55 strains of the genus Campylobacter were selected, including 46 strains of C. jejuni. For study sensitivity of these strains to 15 antimicrobials (8 classes) disk diffusion assays were done using the EUCAST protocol. The following antibiotics were used: nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, gentamicin, amikacin, kanamycin, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, doxycycline, clindamycin, lincomycin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, florfenicol, cefotaxime. All C. jejuni strains were resistant to cephalothin, which confirms their belonging to this species. 89% of the strains were insensitive to nalidixic acid, which indicates the reduction of informativeness of this test, traditionally used in the standard scheme of species identification of Саmpylobacter spp. Most of the investigated isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin (96.3%) and tetracycline (88.6%), 34% of strains had resistance to erythromycin; 40% of tested C. jejuni were multi-resistant to four or more antibiotics. The data indicate a high prevalence of antibiotic-resistant strains among campylobacteria, contaminated poultry products during the processing of raw materials.

[Antibiotic resistance analysis of Enterococcus spp. and Enterobacteriaceae spp. isolated from food].

The isolates from foods were screened for sensitivity to clinically significant antibiotics to assess the actual situation related to the prevalence of the antibiotic-resistant microorganisms in food. The goal of this work was to study the phenotypic characteristics of the antibiotic susceptibility of Enterobacteriaceae and Enterococcus spp. isolated from the good quality foods, and evaluation of the prevalence of tetracycline resistance in this groups of microbial contaminants. 68 strains of Enterobacteriaceae family and Enterococcus spp. isolated from poultry and livestock meat, pasteurized dairy products, acquired in the retail in the Moscow region, were studied. The disk-diffusion method (DDM) analysis showed a rather high prevalence of bacteria that are resistant and forming resistance to broad-spectrum antibiotics: in general 38% of Enterobacteriaceae strains and 40% of Enterococcus spp., isolated from meat products were resistant to tetracycline and doxycycline, and 21 and 33% - from dairy products, respectively; 26% of milk isolates and 54% of meat isolates were resistant to ampicillin. Considering that the tetracyclines is the most frequently used in animal husbandry and veterinary, the incidence and levels of tetracycline resistance were evaluated using tests with higher sensitivity to minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), than the DDM. It was shown that among the Enterobacteriaceae strains 26% of <> isolates and 38% < isolates were highly resistant to tetracycline (MIC ranged from 8 to 120 mg/kg) and 17-40% - among Enterococcus spp. These data obtained on a small number of samples, however, correspond to the frequency of tetracycline resistant strains detected in animal products in the EU (10-50%). Two multidrug-resistant enterobacteria strains - Klebsiella pneumoniae (farmer cheese) and Escherichia coli (minced turkey) were found among the .46 strains (4.4%), and they were resistant to 8 antibiotics.

[The study of influence of stresses on virulence genes expression in foodborne pathogens Campylobacter jejuni].

The study of the responses to cold exposure in Campylobacterjejuni (C. jejuni)--one of the most common foodborne pathogens is important for elucidating the mechanisms of acquisition of products contaminated with campylobacter, hazardous properties. These data are also necessary to create effective systems of microbiological controls at all stages of production and storage of food. 5 pairs of oligonucleotide primers were selected for detecting of genes cadF, cdtB, ciaB, flaA, iamA, encoding the main factors of pathogenicity of foodborne pathogens Campylobacter jejuni--adhesion and invasion of epithelial cells, production of CDT-toxin and mobility. To quantify the expression levels of target genes of C. jejuni a comparative method of determining the amount of amplification products of genes encoding pathogenicity factors of Campylobacter spp. has been developed using real-time PCR with intercalating dyes. To calculate and quantify gene expression the mathematical models have been obtained that allow extrapolation of threshold cycles of amplification to the initial number of copies of RNA/DNA in the tested samples. It has been established that exposure of C. jejuni at low temperatures +4 degrees C did not lead to increased levels of expression of genes cdtB and ciaB. However, in the populations of C. jejuni subjected to freezing, followed by incubation at optimum for the pathogen temperature of +42 degrees C, the increase in expression of mRNA encoding protein subunit B of CDT-toxin and antigenic marker of invasion took place. The number of copies of RNA in C. jejuni after stress exposure increased by 1.14-2.6 lg in comparison with intact cultures. CdtB and ciaB gene expression in C. jejuni can serve as an indicator of cell response to stress and helps to restore the functions of the bacterial cells after the termination of cold exposure and return of the pathogen in conditions favourable to the realization of its pathogenic potential.

[The study of the contamination and the levels of Campylobacter spp. during the processing of selected types of foods].

The purpose of the work was to study the nature of the Campylobacter spp. contamination during the processing of food products of plant and animal origin (raw poultry and beef meat, raw milk, leafy salads, sliced raw vegetables). In the study of 148 samples 50 strains of Campylobacter spp. (33.8%) were found. For the main phenotypic characteristics they were identified as C. jejuni spp. jejuni and C. jejuni spp. doylei (over 75%). The highest level of detection of campylobacteria (over 45%) was set for raw poultry, including the carcasses of chickens broilers, quails, turkeys and their semi-finished products. 19 of the 27 strains from poultry were identified as C. jejuni. Among the strains isolated from the environment, including swabs from equipment surfaces, 91% of the isolates were also presented by C. jejuni. It was found that the investigated foodstuffs were characterized by high levels of contamination with bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae, the content of which was comparable with the identified values of total viable bacteria (cfu). Salmonella was detected in 19% of the investigated poultry samples and in 14.3% of raw cow milk. In the study of swabs from surfaces of poultry processing equipment, the frequency of detection of Campylobacter strains was 38.7%, Salmonella - 12.9%. Most commonly Campylobacter and Salmonella were detected in the zones of primary processing of poultry: the frequency of isolation of Salmonella in slaughter corner was 25%, Campylobacter - 43%. When testing the swabs taken in the cooking zone of «fast food¼ restaurants Campylobacter and Salmonella were not detected. For studying the swabs from equipment surfaces and the environment for the presence of Campylobacter spp. a modified technique of sampling was developed. The method includes a comprehensive analysis in the test area with the use of three types of media for transportation and incubation of Campylobacter spp. (Preston broth with blood, Brucella broth, Cary-Blair medium), that increase the probability of detection of these pathogens.