• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.511-516
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• 1994

P multocida was isolated from 80(17.7%) of 450 pneumonic lungs of slaughter pigs. The majority of the biochemical and cultural characteristics of P multocida isolates were identical to those of the reference strains employed. Seventy seven strains(96.3%) among 80 isolates were capsular serotype A while the remaining 3(3.8%) were serotype D. All isolates were very susceptible to ampicillin, ceftiofur, cephalothin, ciprofloxacin and penicillin-G although some of them were resistant to sulfamethoxin and/or streptomycin. Sixty one(76.3%) of all 80 P multocida isolates were dermonecrotic toxin producers. Out of 77 isolates of serotype A and 3 isolates of serotype D, 59(76.6%) and 2(66.7%) were toxigenic, respectively. No difference was noted in dermonecrotic toxigenicity of the isolates in relation to capsular serotypes.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.19-27
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• 1974

Thirty one culture filtrates of Penicillium app. isolated from foodstuffs were submitted for toxicity by use of HeLa cell and ICR-mice. Nine strains among the 31 of Penicillia were cytotoxic to the HeLa cell cultures. Seven strains among the 31 of Penicillia were toxic to the ICR-mice and the pathological findings were the liver injury featured by parenchymal cell necrosis and degeneration. As a mass screening, cytotoxicity test using HeLa cells is feasible method to detect the mycotoxin-producing fungi.

• ALGAE
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.303-313
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• 2012

Cyanobacteria are well known for their production of a multitude of highly toxic and / or allelopathic compounds. Among the photosynthetic microorganisms, cyanobacteria, belonging to the genus Nostoc are regarded as good candidate for producing biologically active secondary metabolites which are highly toxic to humans and other animals. Since so many reports have been published on the poisoning of different animals from drinking water contaminated with cyanobacteria toxins, it might be assumed that bioactive compounds are found only in aquatic species causes toxicity. However, the discovery of several dead dogs, mice, ducks, and fish around paddy fields, prompted us to study the toxic compounds in a strain of Nostoc which is most abundant in the paddy fields of Iran, using polymerase chain reaction and liquid chromatography coupled with a diode array detector and mass spectrophotometer. Results of molecular analysis demonstrated that the ASN_M strain contains the nosF gene. Also, the result of ion chromatograms and $MS^2$ fragmentation patterns showed that while there were three different peptidic compound classes (anabaenopeptin, cryptophycin, and nostocyclopeptides), there were no signs of the presence of anatoxin-a, homoanatoxin-a, hassallidin or microcystins. Moreover, a remarkable antifungal activity was identified in the methanolic extracts. Based on the results, this study suggests that three diverse groups of potentially bioactive compounds might account for the death of these animals. This case is the first documented incident of toxicity from aquatic cyanobacteria related intoxication in dogs, mice, and aquatic organisms in Iran.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.2043-2048
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• 2015

Bacillus thuringiensis microbial insecticide products have been applied worldwide. Although a few cases of B. thuringiensis foodborne illness have been reported, little is known about the toxigenic properties of B. thuringiensis isolates. The aims of this study were to estimate the pathogenic potential of B. thuringiensis selected from microbial insecticide products, based on its possession of toxin genes and production of enterotoxins. Fifty-two B. thuringiensis strains selected from four kinds of microbial insecticide products were analyzed. PCR assay for detection of toxin genes and immunoassay for detection of enterotoxins were performed. The hemolysin BL complex as a major enterotoxin was produced by 17 (32.7%), whereas the non-hemolytic enterotoxin complex was detected in 1 (1.9%) of 52 B. thuringiensis strains. However, cytK, entFM, and ces genes were not detected in any of the tested B. thuringiensis strains. The potential risk of food poisoning by B. thuringiensis along with concerns over B. thuringiensis microbial insecticide products has gained attention recently. Thus, microbial insecticide products based on B. thuringiensis should be carefully controlled.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.210-216
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to evaluate GDH & Toxin (GDT) tests for the identification of the presence of Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) as well as to detect whether any toxin was present in the feces of patients suspected of diarrhea associated with C. difficile. Data related to the results of toxin and culture (TC) tests and GDT tests conducted on patients with diarrhea and suspected CDI between January 2017 and august 2018, positive test rates, patient ages and sexes, whether the patients were hospitalized, and turnaround time (TAT) were analyzed retrospectively. Of the 7,554 total tests conducted for CDI diagnosis, 1,010 TC tests (14.9%) were positive, while 92 GDT tests (12.0%) were positive. Of these positive cases, 815 (80.7%) identified through TC test and 80 (87%) identified through GDT test were inpatients. also, among the patients with positive test results, 497 (49.2%) diagnosed through TC test and 45 (48.9%) diagnosed through GDT test were aged 61 years or older. The total time required to complete a TC test was 83.6 hours, while the time required for a GDT test was 11.2 hours, equating to an approximately three-day difference between the two tests. The detection of toxin-producing C. difficile is important in CDI diagnosis, but the commonly used Enzymeimmunoassay (EIA) toxin tests with low sensitivity result in delayed CDI diagnosis time. Therefore, primary screening tests for CDI diagnosis using the GDT method and secondary tests using additional methods are considered most effective.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.33-49
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• 1977

These studies were carried out to detect the presence of mycotoxin fungi and detoxification of toxins in various kinds of grain and foodstuffs in Korea. The experiments were divided into three parts: mycologic, toxicologic and electron microscopic study. The resuIts were summarized as follows: 1. From the 210 various, samples(local grains, 150 samples; rice-cakes, 50 samples; meju, 10 samples), 1,205 colonies or fungi were isolated. In 1,127 of 1,205 colonies, it was possible to identify 21 genera. Among the identified strains, the predominant genera were Aspergillus sp.(28.5%), Penicillium sp.(27.1%) and Mucor sp.(7.8%). 2. In cytotoxicity test on HeLa cells, 25 strains showed severe toxic effects among the 240 strains of experiments. 3. In histopathologic test on mice, 21 strains showed severe toxic effect to mouse liver cells among the 240 tested strains. 4. In electron microscopic studies of HeLa cells and mouse liver cells from animal which had been treated with crude toxin, the liver cells showed the cytoplasmic change: dillatation or vacuolization of endoplasmic reticulum, swelling of mitochondria and disappearance of mitochondrial cristae, increased number of lipid and glycogen particles. Nucleus and nucelar envelope alterations, were also noted. 5. In the detoxification study with ultraviolet irradiation, 90% of the toxic substances were denatured by the ultraviolet light irradiation for 24 hours. 6. As a mass screening, the cytotoxicity test of HeLa cells and histopathologic study of mice liver cells treated with culture filtrates, employed and feasible to detect mycotoxin producing fungi.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.33 no.3 s.91
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• pp.206-212
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• 2000

Since some cyanobacterial isolates under selective culturing conditions are lacking of characteristic specialized cells or showing altered morphology, the morpho-taxonomic criteria are not accurate enough to discriminate between species. Instead of morphological parameters, a method based on the single or the combination of repetitive oligonucleotides in a single PCR, repetitive oligonucleotides-primed PCR (ROP-PCR), was applied to generate DNA profiles for members of the cyanobacterial genera Anabaena and Oscillatoria, both of which are responsible for causing poisonous blooms in various freshwater systems. ROP-PCR performed on 10 isolates of the cyanobacteria with ERIC and REP sequences from gram-negative bacteria, STRR1A and LTRR sequences derived from cyanobacterial genome, and eukaryotic repetitive sequences, led to the identification of distinct genotypes, and provided specific and repeatable DNA fingerprints for cyanobacterial isolates. Grouping analysis of cyanobacterial isolates showed a signifiant difference depending on the primer used in PCR.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.48-54
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• 2008

Nine types of staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) genes (sea~see, seg~sej), 3 types of virulence genes (eta, etb, tst), mecA and 16S rRNA as internal positive control were detected from 187 clinical MRSA (methicillin resistance Staphylococcus aureus) strains isolated from a variety hospitalized patients in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do areas using the multiplex PCR. The frequency of the S. aureus strains harboring recently reported SE genes (seg~sej) were found to be very high (65.9%) and greater than that of the strains harboring classical SE (sea~see) genes (47.8%) as previously established. Taking into account that the newly described pairs form SE genes (i.e., sec+seg+sei, seg+sei) were many, in the other hand, single form SE genes (i.e., seg, seh, sei and sej) were rarely detected. The S. aureus with pairs form enterotoxigenic genes become more potentially toxigenic strains. Furthermore, this work indicated a systematic association between the seg and sei genes and their high incidence among the S, aureus strains, which suggests that these two SE's could be an important phylogenetic link among the staphylococcal enterotoxins.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.39-58
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• 1975

These studies were carried out to detect the presence of mycotoxin producing fungi in various kind of grains and foodstuffs in Korea. The experiments were divided into three parts: bacteriologic, toxicologic and electron microscopic studies. The results were summarized as follows: 1. From the 133 various samples, 426 colonies of fungi were isolated. In 405 of 426 colonies, it was possible to identify 17 genera. Among the identified strains, the predominant genera were Penicillium, Aspergillus and Alternaria. 2. In cytotoxicity test, 20 strains showed mild to severe toxic effects in mice and 24 strains showed toxic effects on HeLa cells among the 107 strains of experiments. 3. In electron microscopic studies of liver cells from animal which had been treated with toxin like substances, the liver cells showed the cytoplasmic changes: dilatation of endoplasmic reticulum, swelling of mitochondria, disappearance of mitochondrial cristae, increased number of lipid and glycogen particles. Nucleus and nuclear envelope alterations were also noted. 4. In fine structure of HeLa cells treated with culture filtrates of mycotoxin producing fungi and experimental strains had been noted a certain specific changes induced by culture filtrates. These alterations showed the disappearance of golgi complex, endoplasmic reticulum vacuolization and mitochondrial changes. 5. As a mass screening, the cytotoxicity tests of HeLa cells and histopathologic study of mice liver cells treated with toxin-like substances, employed are feasible to detect mycotoxin producing fungi.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.159-166
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• 1990

The ability of many toxigenic fungi to invade and develop in a wide variety of raw ingredients of human diet renders human exposure to mycotoxing very difficult to avoid. Most of the energy-rich commodities, such as cereal grains, oil seeds, tree nuts, and dehydrated fruits, are susceptible to mycotoxin contamination. Mycotoxins therefare have been recognized as an important class of hazardous substances in the human food chain. Although human exposure to mycotoxins is largely through ingestion, inhalation and skin contact may also be significant under conditions other than consumption of foods. Human ingestion of mycotoxins is due to consumption of contaminated dietary ingredients and the edible tissues and products of domestic animals that have been exposed to mycotoxins in moldy feed. Large scale acute human mycotoxicoses, such as ergotism in France, alimentary toxic aleukia in Russia, yellow rice syndrome in Japan, endemic nephropathy in Balkan countries, and acute aflatoxin poisonings in India and Taiwan, have been well documented, indicating that mycotoxicosis is a global problem. In some incidents, hundreds of victims were killed and many more became seriously ill. The mycotoxins that have been implicated in the etiology of these human diseases include aflatoxins, citreoviridin, cyclopiazonic acid, ergot alkaloids, moniliformin, ochratoxin A, trichothecenes, tenuazonic acid, and zearalenone. Among these, aflatoxins have been also implicated in the etiology of human primary liver cancer in those high-incidence countries in Africa and southeast Asia. It is well recognized that cause-effect relationship between mycotoxins and human diseases is very difficult to establish, especially for the cancer connection. Careful risk assessment must be performed to determine whether a mycotoxin indeed warrants costly regulatory actions.