Volumen 59 (2020): Heft 4 (December 2020)

The article discusses the importance of bioaerosol in terms of forensic microbiology and explains its usefulness in forensic investigations. Examples of investigative practice and crime investigations available in the literature are also presented, with special focus on the importance of biological aerosol analyses during evidence proceedings.

1. Introduction. 2. Biological aerosols. 3. Bioaerosols in forensic investigations. 4. Summary

Brucellosis is a transmissible bacterial zoonotic disease caused by Gram-negative coccobacillus bacteria of the genus Brucella. The disease severely hinders the livestock industry and human health. In several instances, infected animals act as carriers for the cross-species transmission of brucellosis. Social issues, poor husbandry practices, irregularities in the marketing and movement of domestic animals, and lack of coordination between veterinary and human health services are some of the key factors responsible for the transmission and prevalence of Brucellosis. Human contact with infected domestic animals is often the transmission route of Brucellosis infection. Therefore, human brucellosis could be eradicated globally by eradicating animal brucellosis. This review describes the current status of brucellosis and the risk factors of the disease in animals and the human population. In addition, there is a further discussion of the various issues related to the control and prevention of brucellosis in domestic animals and humans.

1. Introduction. 2. Historical background of Brucellosis. 3. Prevalence of brucellosis 4. Taxonomy 5. Epidemiology of Brucellosis 6. Risk factors for brucellosis 7. Transmission. 8. Clinical Symptoms. 9. Human brucellosis. 10. Diagnosis of brucellosis 11. Detection of Brucella organisms. 12. Serological tests. 13. Molecular diagnostic methods. 14. Control and prevention of brucellosis

Bacterial proteins of the Dsb (disulfide bond) system catalyze the formation of disulfide bridges, a post-translational modification of extra-cytoplasmic proteins, which leads to stabilization of their tertiary and quaternary structures and often influences their activity. DsbA – Escherichia coli monomeric oxidoreductase is the best studied protein involved in this process. Recent rapid advances in global analysis of bacteria have thrown light on the enormous diversity among bacterial Dsb systems. The set of Dsb proteins involved in the oxidative pathway, varies, depending on the microorganism. In this article we have focused on characterization of structural and phylogenetic groups of monomeric DsbAs. This review discuss their physicochemical features and interactions with redox partners as well as with substrate proteins. The last part of the review concentrates on dimeric oxidoreductases responsible for disulfide generation. Many virulence factors are the substrates of the Dsb proteins. Thus unraveling the machinery that introduces disulfide bonds and expanding knowledge about Dsb protein structures and their activities may facilitate the discovery of an effective anti-bacterial drugs.

1. Introduction. 2. Escherichia coli Dsb system. 2.1. Characteristic of the E. coli thiol oxidoreductase – DsbA. 2.2. Izomerization / reduction pathway proteins. 3. Classification of the monomeric DsbAs. 3.1. Physicochemical features of different classes of DsbAs. 4. DsbA interactions with redox partner and substrates. 4.1. DsbA interactions with redox partner. 4.2. DsbA interactions with substrates. 5. Dimeric Dsb proteins with oxidative activity. 6. Conclusions. 7. References

One of essential bacteria used in modern agriculture, in particular because of its ability to eradicate insects, is Bacillus thuringiensis. Cry and Cyt proteins produced by Bt are selective, therefore using those proteins eliminates only larvae of target insects. There are various other known substances produced by Bt bacteria, that may help with further elimination of pests and promoting plant growth. Furthermore, there are attempts being made to use Bt strains in bioremediation of contaminated sites as well as in medicine, especially in combating human and animal pathogens, or cancer cells.

1. Introduction. 2. Characteristics of Bacillus thuringiensis. 3. Virulence factors of Bacillus thuringiensis. 4. Applications of Bacillus thuringiensis in modern agriculture 5. Novel possible applications of Bacillus thuringiensis. 6. Conclusions

Lyme disease is a multisystem disease caused by bacteria belonging to the group Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. The vector that carries the infection is a tick of the genus Ixodes, that infects subsequent hosts of the spirochete during blood-meal. The varied course of Lyme disease makes it impossible to recognize it on the basis of clinical symptoms. Therefore, the diagnosis of Lyme disease is based mainly on laboratory methods, both direct (detection of the presence of DNA or infectious agent proteins in the biological material collected from the patient) and indirect (mainly serological tests). A commonly recommended approach is serodiagnosis, however, due to the time required for the body to produce specific antibodies, it is not useful in the earliest period of infection. Microbiological diagnostics also can not be used to diagnose Lyme disease in the first weeks of the disease due to its low sensitivity and long waiting time for the result. The solution seems to be molecular diagnostics based on the detection of the spirochete DNA using PCR reaction that is highly specific and sensitive. However, the effectiveness of this approach depends on many factors, therefore it is necessary to develop a standardized protocol ensuring reproducibility of results in all laboratories.

1. Introduction. 2. Genome of B. burgdorferi s.l. 3. Diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis. 4. Types of PCR reactions used in the diagnosis of Lyme disease. 5. Target genes used to DNA detection of B. burgdorferi s.l. 6. Identification of B. burgdorferi s.l. genotypes. 7. Clinical material. 8. The factors affecting the efficiency of PCR. 9. Recommendations for the use of PCR diagnostics. 10. Summary