Xin Wang

Bio: Xin Wang is an academic researcher from Northwest A&F University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Medicine & Chemistry. The author has an hindex of 20, co-authored 89 publications receiving 1434 citations.

Antimicrobial effect and mode of action of chlorogenic acid on Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract: Natural products have been developed as an alternative source of novel antibacterials in combating food-borne pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes. The aims of this study were to investigate the antimicrobial effect of chlorogenic acid (CA) on S. aureus and to elucidate its mechanism of action. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of CA were determined using the agar dilution method. Intracellular pH (pHin), membrane potential, intracellular and extracellular ATP concentrations, and the release of cell constituents were measured to elucidate antibacterial mechanism. Morphological changes induced by CA were examined by electron microscopy. CA induced a decrease in the intracellular ATP concentrations, but no proportional increase in the extracellular ATP. And the release of cell constituents increased significantly when treated with CA. A reduction in pHin and cell membrane hyperpolarization were observed in S. aureus after CA treatment. Electron microscopic observations showed that the cell membrane of S. aureus was damaged by CA. It is concluded that CA inhibited the proliferation of S. aureus and destroyed the permeability of the cell membrane. The findings indicated that CA has the potential to be developed as an alternative to control S. aureus and the diseases associated with this microorganism.

Punicalagin inhibits Salmonella virulence factors and has anti-quorum-sensing potential

Abstract: Punicalagin, an essential component of pomegranate rind, has been demonstrated to possess antimicrobial activity against several food-borne pathogens, but its activity on the virulence of pathogens and its anti-quorum-sensing (anti-QS) potential have been rarely reported. This study investigated the efficacy of subinhibitory concentrations of punicalagin on Salmonella virulence factors and QS systems. A broth microdilution method was used to determine the MICs of punicalagin for 10 Salmonella strains. Motility assay and quantitative reverse transcription (RT)-PCR were performed to evaluate the effects of punicalagin on the virulence attributes and QS-related genes of Salmonella. The MICs of punicalagin for several Salmonella strains ranged from 250 to 1,000 μg/ml. Motility assays showed that punicalagin, at 1/16× MIC and 1/32× MIC, significantly decreased bacterial swimming and swarming motility, which corresponded to downregulation of the motility-related genes (fliA, fliY, fljB, flhC, and fimD) in RT-PCR assays. RT-PCR also revealed that punicalagin downregulated the expression of most of the selected genes involved in Salmonella virulence. Moreover, a QS inhibition assay indicated that punicalagin dose dependently inhibited the production of violacein by Chromobacterium violaceum and repressed the expression of QS-related genes (sdiA and srgE) in Salmonella. In addition, punicalagin significantly reduced Salmonella invasion of colonic cells (P<0.01) with no impact on adhesion. These findings suggest that punicalagin has the potential to be developed as an alternative or supplemental agent for prevention of Salmonella infection.

Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Molecular Typing of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Retail Foods in Shaanxi, China

Abstract: The aims of this study were to evaluate the occurrence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in retail foods in Shaanxi, China and to investigate antimicrobial resistance and molecular characteristics of these strains. A total of 1979 retail food samples were randomly collected during 2008–2012 from supermarkets and farmers markets and screened for S. aureus, and then S. aureus isolates were further examined to determine whether they were MRSA. MRSA isolates were further characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility test, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, spa typing, multilocus sequence typing, and SCCmec typing, and were examined for genes encoding enterotoxins, exfoliative toxins, Panton-Valentine leukocidin (pvl), and toxic shock syndrome toxin 1. Among all the samples examined, four (1.4%) raw milk samples, six (2.3%) chicken samples, one (0.6%) pork sample, three (0.6%) ready-to-eat food samples, and three (2.5%) dumpling samples were positive for MRSA. No MRSA isolates were ...

SPAdes, a new genome assembly algorithm and its applications to single-cell sequencing ( 7th Annual SFAF Meeting, 2012)

Abstract: The lion's share of bacteria in various environments cannot be cloned in the laboratory and thus cannot be sequenced using existing technologies. A major goal of single-cell genomics is to complement gene-centric metagenomic data with whole-genome assemblies of uncultivated organisms. Assembly of single-cell data is challenging because of highly non-uniform read coverage as well as elevated levels of sequencing errors and chimeric reads. We describe SPAdes, a new assembler for both single-cell and standard (multicell) assembly, and demonstrate that it improves on the recently released E+V-SC assembler (specialized for single-cell data) and on popular assemblers Velvet and SoapDeNovo (for multicell data). SPAdes generates single-cell assemblies, providing information about genomes of uncultivatable bacteria that vastly exceeds what may be obtained via traditional metagenomics studies. SPAdes is available online ( http://bioinf.spbau.ru/spades ). It is distributed as open source software.

Harmonization of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis protocols for epidemiological typing of strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: a single approach developed by consensus in 10 European laboratories and its applicatio

Abstract: ABSTRACT Pulsed-fieldgel electrophoresis (PFGE) is the most common genotypic method used in reference and clinical laboratories for typing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Many different protocols have been developed in laboratories that have extensive experience with the technique and have established national databases. However, the comparabilities of the different European PFGE protocols for MRSA and of the various national MRSA clones themselves had not been addressed until now. This multinational European Union (EU) project has established for the first time a European database of representative epidemic MRSA (EMRSA) strains and has compared them by using a new “harmonized” PFGE protocol developed by a consensus approach that has demonstrated sufficient reproducibility to allow the successful comparison of pulsed-field gels between laboratories and the tracking of strains around the EU. In-house protocols from 10 laboratories in eight European countries were compared by each center with a “gold standard” or initial harmonized protocol in which many of the parameters had been standardized. The group found that it was not important to standardize some elements of the protocol, such as the type of agarose, DNA block preparation, and plug digestion. Other elements were shown to be critical, namely, a standard gel volume and concentration of agarose, the DNA concentration in the plug, the ionic strength and volume of running buffer used, the running temperature, the voltage, and the switching times of electrophoresis. A new harmonized protocol was agreed on, further modified in a pilot study in two laboratories, and finally tested by all others. Seven laboratories' gels were found to be of sufficiently good quality to allow comparison of the strains by using a computer software program, while two gels could not be analyzed because of inadequate destaining and DNA overloading. Good-quality gels and inclusion of an internal quality control strain are essential before attempting intercenter PFGE comparisons. A number of clonally related strains have been shown to be present in multiple countries throughout Europe. The well-known Iberian clone has been demonstrated in Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, and Spain (and from the wider HARMONY collection in Portugal, Slovenia, and Sweden). Strains from the United Kingdom (EMRSA-15 and -16) have been identified in several othercountries, and other clonally related strains have also been identified. This highlights the need for closer international collaboration to monitor the spread of current epidemic strains as well as the emergence of new ones.

The role of pretreatment in improving the enzymatic hydrolysis

Abstract: Lignocellulosic materials are among the most promising alternative energy resources that can be utilized to produce cellulosic ethanol. However, the physical and chemical structure of lignocellulosic materials forms strong native recalcitrance and results in relatively low yield of ethanol from raw lignocellulosic materials. An appropriate pretreatment method is required to overcome this recalcitrance. For decades various pretreatment processes have been developed to improve the digestibility of lignocellulosic biomass. Each pretreatment process has a different specificity on altering the physical and chemical structure of lignocellulosic materials. In this paper, the chemical structure of lignocellulosic biomass and factors likely affect the digestibility of lignocellulosic materials are discussed, and then an overview about the most important pretreatment processes available are provided. In particular, the combined pretreatment strategies are reviewed for improving the enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose and realizing the comprehensive utilization of lignocellulosic materials.

Chlorogenic Acid: Recent Advances on Its Dual Role as a Food Additive and a Nutraceutical against Metabolic Syndrome.

Abstract: Chlorogenic acid (5-O-caffeoylquinic acid) is a phenolic compound from thehydroxycinnamic acid family. This polyphenol possesses many health-promoting properties, mostof them related to the treatment of metabolic syndrome, including anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory,antilipidemic, antidiabetic, and antihypertensive activities. The first part of this review will discussthe role of chlorogenic acid as a nutraceutical for the prevention and treatment of metabolicsyndrome and associated disorders, including in vivo studies, clinical trials, and mechanisms ofaction. The second part of the review will be dealing with the role of chlorogenic acid as a foodadditive. Chlorogenic acid has shown antimicrobial activity against a wide range of organisms,including bacteria, yeasts, molds, viruses, and amoebas. These antimicrobial properties can beuseful for the food industry in its constant search for new and natural molecules for thepreservation of food products. In addition, chlorogenic acid has antioxidant activity, particularlyagainst lipid oxidation; protective properties against degradation of other bioactive compoundspresent in food, and prebiotic activity. The combination of these properties makes chlorogenic acidan excellent candidate for the formulation of dietary supplements and functional foods.