No abstract

No abstract

In this study, a first food-grade mucosal vaccine against leptospirosis was developed without the use of antibiotic resistance gene. This expression system is based on a food-grade host/vector system of Lactobacillus plantarum and a new vaccine candidate antigen, a leucine-rich repeat (LRR) protein of Leptospira borgpetersenii. The LRR of interest from serovar Sejroe is encoded by two overlapping genes and these genes were fused together by site-directed mutagenesis. The mutant gene thus obtained could be successfully expressed in this system as was shown by western blot analysis and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. In addition, this analysis showed that the mutant LRR protein fused to a homologous signal peptide of L. plantarum could be exported to the cell surface as a result of the native LPXAG motif of the heterologous LRR protein, which presumably is responsible for anchoring the protein to the cell wall of L. plantarum. This new strategy could be an essential tool for further studies of leptospirosis mucosal vaccine delivery.

No abstract

Growth pigments and metabolites of monacolin K and citrinin were compared for Monascus purpureus during 14-day solid-state ermentation on white rice and brown rice (Chai-Nart cultivar). Monascus purpureus IFRPD 4046 was selected as the target strain which produced the  ighesth monacolin K content and the lowest citrinin content. Optimum fermentation conditions regarding moisture content, temperature and fermentation time were determined. A comparative study showed that monacolin K production in white rice was about twice higher than in brown rice. At the optimum conditions, concentrations of monacolin K dried at 55°C to constant weight were 132.98 and 66.48 mg/100 g in white rice and brown rice, respectively while citrinin was not detected. Results revealed that the IFRPD 4046 strain has a potential to produce red yeast rice with higher monacolin K in white rice than<br />in brown rice with low citrinin content.