Comparative genomics and identification of factors involved in Bacillus cereus survival through the dairy supply chain

• Grant number: 16/19214-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: November 03, 2016
• End date: February 12, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Products of Animal Origin Inspection
• Principal Investigator: Ana Maria Centola Vidal
• Grantee: Gabriel Augusto Marques Rossi
• Supervisor: Samuel Keir Sheppard
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Bath, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 14/13104-1 - Gene expression related to the production of Bacillus cereus gastroenteric toxins during the shelf-life of pasteurized milk produced with contaminated milk, BP.DR

Abstract

Bacillus cereus is an important pathogenic agent of the dairy supply chain in Brazil and other countries where it's production of diarrheal and emetic toxins make it a serious public health concern. The problem is exacerbated by the ability of B. cereus strains to survive various heat-treatments used in dairy processing. Surprisingly little is known about the genetic and evolutionary mechanisms involved in surviving the series of selective bottlenecks, imposed by heat treatment, and a comprehensive population genomic study of B. cereus is necessary to identify the genetic elements involved in survival through diary processing, from farm to consumer. In this collaborative proposal, we propose to sample and sequence the genomes of representative B. cereus isolates throughout the dairy processing chain, and to use state-of-the-art genome-wide association studies to identify potential genetic markers of survival and virulence. This approach has been applied recently for Campylobacter through the poultry processing chain by our collaborators and is an important step towards understanding the biology of B. cereus pathogens and the development of improved diagnostic tools and targeted interventions.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MARQUES ROSSI, GABRIEL AUGUSTO; SILVA, HIGOR OLIVEIRA; GAMERO AGUILAR, CARLOS EDUARDO; ROCHETTI, ARINA LAZARO; PASCOE, BEN; MERIC, GUILLAUME; MOURKAS, EVANGELOS; HITCHINGS, MATTHEW D.; MATHIAS, LUIS ANTONIO; DE AZEVEDO RUIZ, VERA LETTICIE; et al. Comparative genomic survey of Bacillus cereus sensu stricto isolates from the dairy production chain in Brazil. FEMS Microbiology Letters, v. 365, n. 3, FEB 2018. (14/13104-1, 16/19214-9, 15/20874-0)

GABRIEL AUGUSTO MARQUES ROSSI; CARLOS EDUARDO GAMERO AGUILAR; HIGOR OLIVEIRA SILVA; ANA MARIA CENTOLA VIDAL. Grupo do Bacillus cereus: aspectos genéticos relacionados à segurança alimentar e ao processamento de derivados lácteos. Arq. Inst. Biol., v. 85, 2018-11-01. (16/19214-9, 15/20874-0, 14/13104-1)