Bacillus cereus in Packaging Material: Molecular and Phenotypical Diversity Revealed

Abstract

The Bacillus cereus group has been isolated from soils, water, plants and numerous food products. These species can produce a variety of toxins including several enterotoxins [non-hemolytic enterotoxin (Nhe), hemolysin BL (Hbl), cytotoxin K, and enterotoxin FM], the emetic toxin cereulide and insecticidal Bt toxins. This is the first study evaluating the presence of B. cereus in packaging material. Among 75 different isolates, four phylogenetic groups were detected (II, III, IV, and VI), of which the groups III and IV were the most abundant with 46.7 and 41.3%, respectively. One isolate was affiliated to psychrotolerant group VI. Growth experiments showed a mesophilic predominance. Based on PCR analysis, nhe genes were detectable in 100% of the isolates, while hbl genes were only found in 50.7%. The cereulide encoding gene was found in four out of 75 isolates, no isolate carried a crystal toxin gene. In total, thirteen different toxin gene profiles were identified. We showed that a variety of B. cereus group strains can be found in packaging material. Here, this variety lies in the presence of four phylogenetic groups, thirteen toxin gene profiles, and different growth temperatures. The results suggest that packaging material does not contain significant amounts of highly virulent strains, and the low number of cereulide producing strains is in accordance with other results.

Foodborne pathogens in the plastisphere: Can microplastics in the food chain threaten microbial food safety?

“…Additionally, the finding of some of the most common food pathogens on larger plastic debris may also be of concern. For example, B. cereus was isolated from plastic litter deriving from the food packaging sector (Schmid et al, 2021). Moreover, biofilm formation on plastic litter suggests for the possibility to also attach to MPs, which offer them an additional route of contamination.…”

Phenotypic diagnosis and genotypic identification of Bacillus cereus causing subclinical mastitis in cows

“…At least three bacterial toxins are known to be involved in diarrheal syndrome: hbl, nhe [42], and the genes hblA, hblC, and hblD that encode the three-component hemolysin BL enterotoxin [43]. In this study, the toxigenic genes (nhe and hblD) were detected in 110 B. cereus isolates, of which 103 were nhe-positive (93.64%) and 101 were hblD-positive (91.82%) (Table -5 and Figures-1 and 2) [44]. Remarkably, nhe was identified in all isolates, while only 50.7% had hbl genes.…”

oxigenic Profiling and Antibiotic Resistance of Baclllus cereus Strains Isolated from Food Consumed By School Children In Ilorin Metropolis

“…Polymorphism among genes could be responsible for the inability to detect hblA genes by PCR in all of the toxin-producing B. cereus strains examined. Results obtained by [37] indicated a high degree of polymorphism in the hbl and nhe genes (within the primer annealing sites) of foodassociated isolates. Production of all three components of the enterotoxin complexes hbl and nhe is confirmed to be necessary for biological activity [33].…”