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Biomedical subjects

André Kobilinsky

Publications and source records attributed to André Kobilinsky.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Construction and analysis of fractional multifactorial designs to study attachment strength and transfer of Listeria monocytogenes from pure or mixed biofilms after contact with a solid model food.

The aim of this study was to establish which of seven factors influence the adhesion strength and hence bacterial transfer between biofilms containing Listeria monocytogenes (pure and two-species biofilms) and tryptone soya agar (TSA) as a solid organic surface. The two-species biofilms were made of L. monocytogenes and one of the following species of bacteria: the nonpathogenic organisms Kocuria varians, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Staphylococcus sciuri and CCL 63, an unidentified gram-negative bacterium isolated from the processing plant environment. We used biofilms prepared under conditions simulating open surfaces in meat-processing sites. The biofilm's adhesion strength and population were evaluated by making 12 contacts on a given whole biofilm (4.5 cm(2)), using a new slice of a sterilized TSA cylinder for each contact, and plotting the logarithm CFU . cm(-2) detached by each contact against the contact number. Three types of detachment kinetics were observed: biphasic kinetics, where the first slope may be either positive or negative, and monophasic kinetics. The bacteria that resisted a chlorinated alkaline product and a glutaraldehyde- and quaternary ammonium-based disinfectant had greater adhesion strengths than those determined for untreated biofilms. One of the four non-Listeria strains studied, Kocuria varians CCL 56, favored both the attachment and detachment of L. monocytogenes. The stainless steel had smaller bacterial populations than polymer materials, and non-Listeria bacteria adhered to it less strongly. Our results helped to evaluate measures aimed at controlling the immediate risk, linked to the presence of a large number of CFU in a foodstuff, and the delayed risk, linked to the persistence of L. monocytogenes and the occurrence of slightly contaminated foods that may become dangerous if L. monocytogenes multiplies during storage. Cleaning and disinfection reduce the immediate risk, while reducing the delayed risk should be achieved by lowering the adhesion strength, which the sanitizers used here cannot do at low concentrations.

Agar↗

Detection methods and performance criteria for genetically modified organisms.

Detection methods for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are necessary for many applications, from seed purity assessment to compliance of food labeling in several countries. Numerous analytical methods are currently used or under development to support these needs. The currently used methods are bioassays and protein- and DNA-based detection protocols. To avoid discrepancy of results between such largely different methods and, for instance, the potential resulting legal actions, compatibility of the methods is urgently needed. Performance criteria of methods allow evaluation against a common standard. The more-common performance criteria for detection methods are precision, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity, which together specifically address other terms used to describe the performance of a method, such as applicability, selectivity, calibration, trueness, precision, recovery, operating range, limit of quantitation, limit of detection, and ruggedness. Performance criteria should provide objective tools to accept or reject specific methods, to validate them, to ensure compatibility between validated methods, and be used on a routine basis to reject data outside an acceptable range of variability. When selecting a method of detection, it is also important to consider its applicability, its field of applications, and its limitations, by including factors such as its ability to detect the target analyte in a given matrix, the duration of the analyses, its cost effectiveness, and the necessary sample sizes for testing. Thus, the current GMO detection methods should be evaluated against a common set of performance criteria.

Calibration↗

Characterization and event specific-detection by quantitative real-time PCR of T25 maize insert.

T25 is one of the 4 maize transformation events from which commercial lines have so far been authorized in Europe. It was created by polyethylene glycol-mediated transformation using a construct bearing one copy of the synthetic pat gene associated with both promoter and terminator of the 35S ribosomal gene from cauliflower mosaic virus. In this article, we report the sequencing of the whole T25 insert and the characterization of its integration site by using a genome walking strategy. Our results confirmed that one intact copy of the initial construct had been integrated in the plant genome. They also revealed, at the 5' junction of the insert, the presence of a second truncated 35S promoter, probably resulting from rearrangements which may have occurred before or during integration of the plasmid DNA. The analysis of the junction fragments showed that the integration site of the insert presented high homologies with the Huck retrotransposon family. By using one primer annealing in the maize genome and the other in the 5' end of the integrated DNA, we developed a reliable event-specific detection system for T25 maize. To provide means to comply with the European regulation, a real-time PCR test was designed for specific quantitation of T25 event by using Taqman chemistry.

3' Flanking Region↗

Detection of genetically modified corn (Bt176) in spiked cow blood samples by polymerase chain reaction and immunoassay methods.

The fate of DNA and protein transgenic sequences in products derived from animals fed transgenic crops has recently raised public interest. Sensitive molecular tests targeting the Bt176 genetic construct and the transgenic Cry1Ab protein were developed to determine whether plant sequences, especially transgenic sequences, are present in animal products. A protocol for total DNA extraction and purification from cow whole blood samples was first drawn up and assessed by spiking with known amounts of DNA from Bt176 maize. The limit of detection for transgenic sequences (35S promoter and Bt176-specific junction sequence) was determined by both the polymerase chain reaction-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (PCR-ELISA) and the 5'-nuclease PCR assay. Four additional PCR systems were built to substantiate the results. The first detects a mono-copy maize-specific sequence (ADH promoter). Two others target multi-copy sequences from plant nucleus (26S rRNA gene) and chloroplast (psaB gene). The last one, used as a positive control, targets a mono-copy animal sequence (alpha(s1)-casein gene). Both methods detected a minimum spiking at 25 copies of Bt176 maize/mL in 10 mL whole blood samples. The sandwich ELISA kit used detected down to 1 ng transgenic Cry1Ab protein/mL spiked whole blood.

Animals↗