Latest Science from IFR

IFR News 4.00 is published on 18 December 2000. Some of our latest publications are summarised below.

Quantitative microbial risk assessment project completed
Understanding the potential of spore-forming bacteria to cause food poisoning is vital to the protection of consumer health and to the continued commercial success of cooked chilled foods. IFR worked with five other research institutions, three SMEs manufacturing cooked-chilled foods (in Italy, Spain and France) and a professional syndicate to investigate the survival and growth of food-poisoning spore-forming bacteria (e.g. Clostridium botulinum, Bacillus cereus). We have contributed to both microbiological and quantitative risk assessment parts of this important EU-funded project. We have a number of manuscripts in press, and a project summary has just been published.

Leading edge capability in work on the pathogenesis of infection
The establishment of two new food safety teams led by Jay Hinton and Jerry Wells gives IFR leading edge capability in work on the pathogenesis of infection caused by food-borne bacteria. Using a variety of new approaches, they will bring new understanding of pathogenesis and environmental stress responses in E. coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter. Areas of interest include gene regulation, gene expression in response to different growth conditions and two-component signal transduction systems. The teams will use a DNA microarray facility to study an entire bacterial genome in a single experiment.

Brassica vegetables and human health
Ian Johnson reviews the biological properties and nutritional implications of the glucosinolates in brassica vegetables. If confirmed, the anticarcinogenic properties of brassicas will encourage manipulation of glucosinolate levels in commercial vegetables. Recent progress in our understanding of the genetic basis of glucosinolate biosynthesis makes this a practical possibility.

Cellulases in biotechnology
Cellulases and related enzymes are used in food and non-food industries, as well as in agriculture research. Demand for these enzymes is growing rapidly, and has become the driving force for research. Mahalingeshwara Bhat reviews the biological state-of-the-art for cellulases and related enzymes.

Swelling of pectic polysaccharides
Study of the properties of pectic polysaccharides at low levels of hydration is providing new insights into the way the physical properties of the plant cell wall can come under physiological control. The interaction of biopolymers and biomolecular assemblies with water has an important influence on function.

First report of a fungal cinnamoyl esterase with a carbohydrate binding module
Paul Kroon and colleagues have cloned and sequenced an inducible gene (faeB) encoding a novel cinnamoyl esterase, FAEB from Penicillium funiculosum. This esterase is unique in several ways that have important implications in biology and potential for use in biotechnology. It is an important component of the cell wall-degrading 'machinery' of the fungus. FAEB is more efficient on plant cell walls than any other sinlge cinnamoyl esterase described to date, sufficiently so for it to be useful in the analysis of cell wall architecture (e.g. in conjunction with Atomic Force Microscopy).

New EU funding in food safety
Microbial drug resistance imposes an increasing threat to human and animal health and the development of new drugs to control bacterial infections is urgently needed. Jerry Wells has obtained EU funding for two projects in this area. The first involves 6 European partners and aims to exploit bacterial two-component systems (TCS) as a new class of targets for novel drugs to control infectious disease and combat antimicrobial drug resistance. The second is a thematic network using proteomics to study pathogenic bacteria. The network members hope to discover new vaccines, drug targets and develop improved methods for comparative studies of protein expression in bacteria. The recently established proteomics facility at IFR will enable us to make a major contribution to bacterial proteomics research in Europe.

IFR News 4.00(pdf) is available from 18 December: click here

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