Purpose: Biofilm growth exerts a negative impact on industry and health, necessitating the development of strategies to control. The objective of this work was study the lytic activity of the phage isolated from the sewage network in the formation and degradation of Escherichia coli biofilms.Methods: E. coli cultures were incubated in 96-well polystyrene microplates under controlled conditions to evaluate the biofilm formation. The E. coli cultures and established biofilms were treated with the suspensions of the vB_EcoM-UFV017 (EcoM017) bacteriophage obtained from sewage for 24 hours. The E. coli bacterial density was measured using absorbance at 600 nm and the biofilms were measured by crystal violet staining. Polystyrene coupons were used as support for Scanning Electron Microscopy and Confocal Microscopy to evaluate biofilm formation.Results: The E. coli strains formed biofilms in polystyrene microplates after 48 hours’ incubation. The highest EcoM017 phage titer, in the prevention and degradation experiments, reduced the bacterial growth and the quantity of biofilm formed by E. coli in 90.0% and 87.5%, respectively. The minimum dose capable of reducing the biofilms of this bacterium was 101 PFU/mL after 24 hours. The preformed E. coli biofilm mass was reduced 79% post exposure to the phage in the degradation assay. Microscopic analysis confirmed the results obtained in the plates assays.Conclusion: The EcoM017 phage prevented biofilm formation and degraded the E. coli-established ones. The EcoM017 phage isolated from sewage can reduce bacterial attachment and lyse the E. coli associated biofilm cells, offering biotechnological potential applicability for this phage.

ABSTRACT. Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) can cause conditions ranging from diarrhea to potentially fatal hemolytic uremic syndrome. Enteropathogen adaptation to the intestinal environment is necessary for the development of infection, and response to bile is an essential characteristic. We evaluated the response of STEC strain M03 to the bile salt sodium deoxycholate through proteomic analysis. Cell extracts of strain M03 grown with and without sodium deoxycholate were analyzed by two-dimensional electrophoresis; the differentially expressed proteins were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Three proteins were found to be differentially expressed due to sodium deoxycholate. Glycerol dehydrogenase and phosphate acetyltransferase, which are involved in carbon metabolism and have been associated with virulence in some bacteria, were downregulated. The elongation factor Tu (TufA) was upregulated. This protein participates in the translation process and also has chaperone activities. These findings help us understand strategies for bacterial survival under these conditions.

Soybean is one of the main crops in the world and has great added value. Due to its importance, breeders have focused on increasing their production, leaving aside important characteristics such as grain quality. Today, the protein content in soybean seeds is lower than in previous decades, and this process needs to be adjusted to meet the requirements of the food and feed industry. The inheritance of seed traits is complex, and we are still in the infancy of this area. The elucidation of the metabolic pathways involved as well as the discovery of causal genes will be of paramount importance for the field. The main goal of the present work was to identify SNPs associated with protein content in Brazilian soybean genotypes and fine map the region associated with the protein content on chromosome 20 of the BR8014887 line to identify the possible causal gene. We identified a novel SNP (190-ss715637277) associated with protein content on BR8014887 chromosome 20 that has been shown to account for the causal effect within a region of approximately 116kb. Within the region, we have only one target gene that is annotated as a pre-mRNA splicing factor and seems to play multiple roles in the plant. The identified QTL proved to be stable, capable of increasing protein content and is considered rare. Therefore, it can be a great target for breeding programs to use and thus recover part of the protein content lost over the years.