Project description:It has been proposed that endogenously formed N-nitroso compounds (NOCs) are partly responsible for the link between red meat consumption and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. As nitrite has been indicated as one of the critical factors in the formation of endogenous NOCs, it is of high importance to replace or reduce the nitrite levels in meat. Therefore, the PHYTOME project was initiated (Phytochemicals to reduce nitrite in meat products; www.phytome.eu), an EU funded research project aiming to develop innovative meat products in which the food additive sodium nitrite (E251) has been replaced by natural compounds originating from fruits and vegetables. A human dietary intervention study was conducted in which healthy subjects consumed 300 grams of meat for two weeks, in subsequent order: normal processed red meat, white meat, and red processed meat with standard or reduced levels of nitrite and added phytochemicals. Consumption of standard-nitrite PHYTOME meat products leads to a significant reduction in Apparent Total N-nitroso Compounds (ATNC) levels in faecal water, a surrogate marker of endogenously formed NOCs, as compared to the consumption of conventional processed red meat products. A reduction of nitrite in the PHYTOME meat lowered these levels even further. In addition, DNA strand breaks induced in ex-vivo faecal water exposed Caco-2 cells and O6-methyl-guanine adducts levels in colonic DNA were significantly higher after consumption of normal processed red meat as compared to white meat intake. PHYTOME meat intake resulted in reduced levels of these genotoxic markers, however, these were not statistically significant. Whole genome gene expression analyses in colonic tissue identified differentially expressed genes and genes associated with ATNC, which are related to molecular pathways which may explain cancer risk initiation after intake of processed red meat and cancer risk prevention after intake of the PHYTOME meat. Together these results indicate that addition of natural extracts to conventional processed red meat products results in reduced endogenous formation of NOCs, and may therefore contribute to a reduced risk of CRC, which is mechanistically supported by gene expression analyses.
Project description:Pseudomonas fragi is the predominant bacterial species associated with spoiled aerobically stored chilled meat worldwide. It readily forms biofilms on meat under refrigerated temperature conditions used in meat industry. Biofilm growth leads to slime development on meat which becomes a major quality defect. In this research, RNA sequencing was carried out for the main stages of P. fragi strain 1793 grown on aerobically stored meat, kept at 10 °C. RNA was extracted at different stages of the biofilm cycle namely initiation, maturation and dispersal. The key objectives of this study was to investigate which genes are expressed at each of these stages as well as to understand the causes of P. fragi biofilm dipersal.
Project description:The processing ability of chicken meat is highly related to its ultimate pH (pHu), which is mainly determined by the amount of glycogen in the muscle at death. The molecular mechanisms involved in variations of those traits for chicken remain to be fully described. For that purpose, two chicken lines were divergently selected on breast meat pHu, i.e. the pHu- and the pHu+ lines. In this study, Chicken Genome Arrays (60 K) were used to compare muscle gene expression profiles of chickens from both lines. The final goal of this experiment is to identify biomarkers of low and high-pHu chicken meat. This study was supported by INRA and the French Ministry of Agriculture through the RFI CASDAR #1309 OPTIVIANDE.
2017-02-01 | GSE89268 | GEO
Project description:Biofilms in the meat processing environment
Project description:S. aureus biofilms are associated with the organism's ability to cause disease. Biofilm associated bacteria must cope with the host's innate immune system. We used commercially available Affymetrix S. aureus GeneChips to compare the gene expression properties of 4 and 6 day established biofilms following short (1 hr)- and long (24 hr)- term exposure to macrophages and neutrophils. S. aureus strain USA300 LAC biofilms where formed for 4 or 6 days. Established biofilms were then exposed to macrophages for 1 or 24 hr. Alternatively, biofilms were exposed to neutrophils for 1 or 4 hr. Total bacterial RNA was isolated and subjected to GeneChip hybridization and analysis. We sought to determine the regulatory effects of Macrophages and Neutrophils on established S. aureus biofilms.
Project description:To find a promoter upregulated in the presence of rotten meat, we exposed B. subtilis 168 to the volatiles of rotten meat (mixed beef/pork) and performed a microarray comparing it to B. subtilis which was not exposed to the meat. The results where used to build iGEM Groningen 2012s Food Warden, a spoiled meat detector. Find more information at: 2012.igem.org/Team:Groningen
Project description:An important lesson from the war on pathogenic bacteria has been the need to understand the physiological responses and evolution of natural microbial communities. Bacterial populations in the environment are generally forming biofilms subject to some level of phage predation. These multicellular communities are notoriously resistant to antimicrobials and, consequently, very difficult to eradicate. This has sparked the search for new therapeutic alternatives, including phage therapy. This study demonstrates that S. aureus biofilms formed in the presence of a non-lethal dose of phage phiIPLA-RODI exhibit a unique physiological state that could potentially benefit both the host and the predator. Thus, biofilms formed under phage pressure are thicker and have a greater DNA content. Also, the virus-infected biofilm displayed major transcriptional differences compared to an untreated control. Significantly, RNA-seq data revealed activation of the stringent response, which could slow down the advance of the bacteriophage within the biofilm. The end result would be an equilibrium that would help bacterial cells to withstand environmental challenges, while maintaining a reservoir of sensitive bacterial cells available to the phage upon reactivation of the dormant carrier population.