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Publications

NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.

2020

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Sammendrag

The emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens has caused a serious worldwide problem in infection treatment in recent years. One of the pathogens is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which is a major cause of skin and soft tissue infections. Alternative strategies and novel sources of antimicrobials to solve antibiotic resistance problems are urgently needed. In this study, we explored the potential of two broad-spectrum bacteriocins, garvicin KS and micrococcin P1, in skin infection treatments. The two bacteriocins acted synergistically with each other and with penicillin G in killing MRSA in vitro. The MICs of the antimicrobials in the three-component mixture were 40 ng/ml for micrococcin P1 and 2 μg/ml for garvicin KS and penicillin G, which were 62, 16, and at least 1,250 times lower than their MICs when assessed individually. To assess its therapeutic potential further, we challenged the three-component formulation in a murine skin infection model with the multidrug-resistant luciferase-tagged MRSA Xen31, a strain derived from the clinical isolate S. aureus ATCC 33591. Using the tagged-luciferase activity as a reporter for the presence of Xen31 in wounds, we demonstrated that the three-component formulation was efficient in eradicating the pathogen from treated wounds. Furthermore, compared to Fucidin cream, which is an antibiotic commonly used in skin infection treatments, our formulation was also superior in terms of preventing resistance development.

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We investigated the effect of supplemental LED inter-lighting (80% red, 20% blue; 70 W m−2; light period 04:00–22:00) on the productivity and physiological traits of tomato plants (Flavance F1) grown in an industrial greenhouse with high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps (235 W m−2, 420 µmol m−2 s−1 at canopy). Physiological trait measurements included diurnal photosynthesis and fruit relative growth rates, fruit weight at specific positions in the truss, root pressure, xylem sap hormone and ion compositions, and fruit quality. In the control treatment with HPS lamps alone, the ratio of far-red to red light (FR:R) was 1.2 at the top of the canopy and increased to 5.4 at the bottom. The supplemental LED inter-lighting decreased the FR:R ratio at the middle and low positions in the canopy and was associated with greener leaves and higher photosynthetic light use efficiency (PLUE) in the leaves in the lower canopy. The use of LED inter-lighting increased the biomass and yield by increasing the fruit weight and enhancing plant growth. The PLUE of plants receiving supplemental LED light decreased at the end of the light period, indicating that photosynthesis of the supplemented plants at the end of the day might be limited by sink capacity. The supplemental LED lighting increased the size of fruits in the middle and distal positions of the truss, resulting in a more even size for each fruit in the truss. Diurnal analysis of fruit growth showed that fruits grew more quickly during the night on the plants receiving LED light than on unsupplemented control plants. This faster fruit growth during the night was related to an increased root pressure. The LED treatment also increased the xylem levels of the phytohormone jasmonate. Supplemental LED inter-lighting increased tomato fruit weight without affecting the total soluble solid contents in fruits by increasing the total assimilates available for fruit growth and by enhancing root activity through an increase in root pressure and water supply to support fruit growth during the night.

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Sammendrag

Aquaculture is a fast‐growing and rapidly expanding industry in the world. Probiotics are widely used in aquaculture and have provided benefits to aquatic animal health, and it is also a promising alternative to antibiotics for control of fish diseases. With the development of biotechnology, new expression systems and novel techniques for the surface display of heterologous proteins in surface of probiotics cells have been developed. This review provides an overview of the systems and strategies for displaying functional proteins on the surface of probiotics commonly used in aquaculture, which are Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus thuringiensis, lactic acid bacteria represented by Lactococcus lactis and yeast. Their applications in aquaculture especially for oral vaccine development afforded by this technology and prospects and challenges associated with this technology are also highlighted.

Sammendrag

This chapter focuses on ocean-land interactions and the potential for bioeconomy that offers unique opportunities to feed the increasing human population. Oceans can provide a circular bioeconomy by using increased CO2, and dissolved nutrients (P, N, Fe and other elements) in the water, leached from land-based activities. Estimates show that CO2 capture by seaweed cultivation alone can range from 1,500 to 3,000 tons per square kilometre. Ocean photosynthetic production provides more food and energy for human consumption without external inputs. This will contribute to sustainable development by providing food security and will aid the recovery of degraded ecosystems, thus directly contributing to the SDG 2 (reducing hunger) and SDG 14 (protecting life below water). Nevertheless, increasing food production from the oceans has its associated risks if the proper conditions are not met. Hence, proper coastal land use management is important as it continuously affects the nutrient flows, which in turn can lead to more serious changes in carbonate chemistry and ocean acidification. Genuine and stable partnerships, therefore, are necessary to share responsibility for environmental stewardship and to manage marine and coastal ecosystems sustainably. The chapter suggests the need for financial incentives to encourage research and innovations, support farmers associations and establish common platforms to share data and knowledge on oceans for better environmental management.