In this perspective analysis, we strive to answer the following question: how can we advance integrative biology research in the 21st century with lessons from animal science? At the University of ...Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Animal Science, we share here our three lessons learned in the two decades from 2002 to 2022 that we believe could inform integrative biology, systems science, and animal science scholarship in other countries and geographies. Cultivating multiomics knowledge through a conceptual lens of integrative biology is crucial for life sciences research that can stand the test of diverse biological, clinical, and ecological contexts. Moreover, in an era of the current COVID-19 pandemic, animal nutrition and animal science, and the study of their interactions with human health (and vice versa) through integrative biology approaches hold enormous prospects and significance for systems medicine and ecosystem health.
Application of real-time PCR and SYBR Green for selective enumeration of probiotic bacteria in a lyophilised probiotic product sold as an OTC drug, containing
Lactobacillus gasseri, Bifidobacterium ...infantis and
Enterococcus faecium was evaluated. Maxwell DNA Purification Kit was found the most efficient and repeatable. Among nine pairs of primers tested, the following were selected: Enc-F, Enc-R for
E. faecium, Lgas-3/Lgas-2 for
L. gasseri and BiINF-1/BiINF-2 for
B. infantis. Comparison of plate counts and real-time PCR analysis of 10 batches of product showed that on average 62% of lactobacilli, 45% of enterococci and 2% of bifidobacteria preserved their culturability.
Summary Results of the survey carried out in the territories of Tawny Owl Strix aluco in Ljubljana urban forests (Tivoli, Rožnik and Šišenski hrib Nature Park and Golovec Hill) were compared with the ...species territory density in non-urban forest of Mt. Krim. Surveys were performed with the point count method using playback in the springs of 2002 and 2016. The density established at Golovec Hill was 9.3 territories / 10 km 2 , while in Tivoli, Rožnik and Šišenski hrib Nature Park it reached 10.4 territories / 10 km 2 , which was higher than at Mt. Krim (4.1-5.8 territories / 10 km 2 ), although densities between sites were not statistically different. Based on our surveys, the estimated population size of the urban Tawny Owl in Ljubljana would consist of 57 to 65 pairs. Our results suggest that the Tawny Owl can adapt well to the living conditions in the city urban forests and indicate the importance of the forest patches in urban areas.
Results of the survey carried out in the territories of Tawny Owl Strix aluco in Ljubljana urban forests (Tivoli, Rožnik and Šišenski hrib Nature Park and Golovec Hill) were compared with the species ...territory density in non-urban forest of Mt. Krim. Surveys were performed with the point count method using playback in the springs of 2002 and 2016. The density established at Golovec Hill was 9.3 territories / 10 km2, while in Tivoli, Rožnik and Šišenski hrib Nature Park it reached 10.4 territories / 10 km2, which was higher than at Mt. Krim (4.1-5.8 territories / 10 km2), although densities between sites were not statistically different. Based on our surveys, the estimated population size of the urban Tawny Owl in Ljubljana would consist of 57 to 65 pairs. Our results suggest that the Tawny Owl can adapt well to the living conditions in the city urban forests and indicate the importance of the forest patches in urban areas.
Lactobacillus gasseri K7 is a probiotic strain that produces bacteriocins gassericin K7 A and K7 B. In order to develop a real-time quantitative PCR assay for the detection of L. gasseri K7, 18 ...reference strains of the Lactobacillus acidophilus group and 45 faecal samples of adults who have never consumed strain K7 were tested with PCR using 14 pairs of primers specific for gassericin K7 A and K7 B gene determinants. Incomplete gassericin K7 A or K7 B gene clusters were found to be dispersed in different lactobacilli strains as well as in faecal microbiota. One pair of primers was found to be specific for the total gene cluster of gassericin K7A and one for gassericin K7B. The real-time PCR analysis of faecal samples spiked with K7 strain revealed that primers specific for the gene cluster of the gassericin K7 A were more suitable for quantitative determination than those for gassericin K7 B, due to the lower detection level. Targeting of the gassericin K7 A or K7 B gene cluster with specific primers could be used for detection and quantification of L. gasseri K7 in human faecal samples without prior cultivation. The results of this study also present new insights into the prevalence of bacteriocin-encoding genes in gastrointestinal tract.
Magnetic non-porous hydrophilic poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-glycidyl methacrylate)-P(HEMA-co-GMA) microspheres containing carboxyl groups were used for DNA isolation from mouse faeces spiked ...by a probiotic Lactobacillus gasseri K7 strain. The quality of isolated DNA and the presence of target DNA were verified by PCR and real time PCR using primers specific for Lactobacillus genus or primers targeting gassericin A gene of the Lactobacillus gasseri K7 strain. For comparison, two other DNA extraction procedures were used. It was shown that DNA extracted by carboxyl-coated P(HEMA-co-GMA) microspheres were sufficient for the amplification of target DNA using PCR and real-time PCR.
Saponins in tissue culture of Primula veris L Okršlar, Veronika; Plaper, Igor; Kovač, Maja ...
In vitro cellular & developmental biology. Plant,
12/2007, Letnik:
43, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Roots of Primula veris L. contain considerable amounts of triterpene saponins, which are used in medicine as expectorants. P. veris is in many places an endangered plant, and its production in the ...field is laborious and a low yielding process. Plant tissue culture provides an alternative means for producing secondary metabolites. Shoot apex, callus, suspension, and root cultures of P. veris were developed for saponin production. In these cultures, the content of triterpene saponins, with focus on primula acid I, the most dominant saponin in Primula species, was determined and compared to that in soil-grown plants. The highest content of primula acid I was observed in root cultures, on average 29.5 mg/g dry weight. Some culture lines contained higher amounts of primula acid I (62.6 mg/g dry weight) than the roots of plants grown in soil.
When
Listeria monocytogenes
EGDe (serovar 1/2a) was cultivated in cell-free supernatants prepared from red smear cheese microbial ripening consortia grown for 8 h in liquid medium, 8 out of 49 ...supernatants exhibited a bactericidal activity, sometimes even reducing the inoculum of
L. monocytogenes
from 5 × 10
7
CFU/ml to zero after 24 h of incubation. Another five consortia displayed a bacteriostatic capacity. No inhibition in supernatants was observed when the complex consortia were incubated for a 10-min period only, indicating that the activity depends on actively growing consortia. Consortia displayed a very high biodiversity (Simpson’s strain diversity index up to 0.97, species diversity up to 0.89). However, biodiversity did not correlate with anti-listerial activity. There was no obvious similarity between the anti-listerial consortia studied, and no general difference in comparison to non-inhibitory communities. The proportion of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in the consortia ranged between 3 and 45%. Therefore, the presence of 23 different LAB bacteriocin genes was investigated using specific PCR primers, identifying one to five bacteriocin genes in several consortia. In situ transcription of lactococcin G mRNA on the cheese surface was demonstrated by RT-PCR in five samples, but this bacteriocin displayed no anti-listerial activity. Supernatants subjected to thermal and enzymatic treatment suggested the presence of heat-stable, non-proteinaceous molecules as well as heat-labile compounds which are sensitive to proteolytic digestion. Probably, substances other than LAB bacteriocins are responsible for the pronounced antilisterial action of some supernatants.
Prisutnost genskih determinanti za stvaranje različitih vrsta bakteriocina već je ranijim istraživanjima utvrđena u slovenskim ovčjim sirevima “Tolminac” i “Kraški sir” koji se proizvode na ...tradicionalan način. Isti geni za izoliranu mikrobnu populaciju (konzorcij) također su potvrđeni i u kultiviranim uvjetima. U ovom radu pokušalo se utvrditi kako se prisutnost tih genskih determinanti u mikrobnom konzorciju odražava na njegovu antimikrobnu aktivnost. Osim toga, utvrđivao se i utjecaj bakterijskih sojeva koji nose gene za stvaranje bakteriocina na kompetitivnost rasta u mješovitoj populaciji. Mikrobni konzorcij izoliran iz sira “Tolminac” propagiran je u mlijeku 10 dana, nakon čega je utvrđena antimikrobna aktivnost kulture i prisutnost genskih determinanti za stvaranje bakteriocina. Usporedbom rezultata za sposobnost stvaranja bakteriocina prije i nakon precjepljivanja u mlijeku, utvrđen je gubitak te sposobnosti za većinu izoliranih sojeva. Sojevi koji su izdržali ponovljena precjepljivanja u mlijeku nosili su genske determinante za bakteriocine: enterocin P, enterocin L50B i citolizin. Antimikrobna aktivnost konzorcija prije i nakon precjepljivanja nije se značajno razlikovala te se ne može pripisati niti jednom od u ovom pokusu potvrđenih bakteriocina.
Cilj ovog rada bio je provjeriti prisutnost sojeva bakterija mliječne kiseline koji proizvode različite bakteriocine u tradicionalnom slovenskom siru ‘Tolminc’. Prisutnost genskih determinanti za ...pojedine bakteriocine u ovoj vrsti sira i izoliranoj populaciji mikrobiote sira ‘Tolminc’ već je bila prikazana, a također i njihova antimikrobna aktivnost. Zbog poteškoća pri povezivanju detektiranih genskih determinanti za bakteriocine i antimikrobne aktivnosti, odlučeno je u ovom radu analizirati ista svojstva i kod pojedinačnih bakteriocinogenih sojeva. Slično prethodnim istraživanjima, enterokoki i njihovi bakteriocini najbolje su bili zastupljeni. Nijedan od izoliranih sojeva nije inhibirao bakteriju Staphylococcus aureus, dok su ostale indikatorske mikroorganizme inhibirali različito. Većina sojeva nosila je genske determinante za bakteriocin citolizin. Na temelju genskih determinanti za bakteriocine, antimikrobne aktivnosti, fenotipizacije s PhP (PhenePlateTM) sistemom i identifikacije roda i vrste sojeva, mogu se naći neke sličnosti između Enterococcus sojeva.
PDF
