Probiotic bioactive for improvement of animal health and control of foodborne infections

食品供应中病原体的存在仍然是消费者关注的主要问题。加拿大最近爆发的主要食源性疾病涉及动物源性产品，这促使政府机构和食品工业的所有部门将重点放在有效战略上，以控制食物链各环节病原体的存在。目前的项目涉及利用益生菌产生的天然生物活性分子的创新策略，以减轻动物和人类病原体的影响。嗜酸乳杆菌LA-5和其他益生菌产生的生物活性分子，通过关闭与胃肠道上皮细胞粘附有关的基因，降低了大肠杆菌O157:H7和鼠伤寒沙门氏菌等病原体的毒力。这种产品的商业化将有助于生产者改善诸如仔猪和鸡等动物的健康。益生菌生物活性剂的应用还将有助于减少沙门氏菌、产气荚膜梭菌和产肠毒素大肠杆菌（ETEC）等潜在食源性病原体的携带和粪便排出，防止它们在动物宿主中定植。本提案旨在i)评估生物活性物质在动物中的功效，ii)确定其对其他食源性细菌和病毒病原体的影响，iii)阐明其发挥作用的机制，iv)探索其大规模生产的方法。在动物生产中应用这些生物活性物质有助于减少食品中食源性病原体的存在，并限制抗生素在动物疾病治疗中的使用。

The presence of pathogens in the food supply remains a major concern to consumers. Recent major foodborne disease outbreaks in Canada involving products of animal origin have prompted government agencies and all sectors of the food industry to focus on effective strategies to control the presence of pathogens at all points along the food chain. The present project involves an innovative strategy using natural bioactive molecules produced by probiotic bacteria to mitigate the impact of animal and human pathogens. Bioactive molecules produced by Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5, and other probiotic bacteria, reduces the virulence of pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium by switching off genes involved in adherence to epithelial cells of the gastrointestinal tract. The commercialization of such a product will help producers to improve the health of animals such as piglets and chickens. Application of the probiotic bioactive will also help to reduce carriage and fecal shedding of potential foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens and enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) by preventing them from colonizing their animal hosts. This proposal seeks i) to evaluate the efficacy of the bioactives in animals, ii) to determine their effect on a number of other foodborne bacterial and viral pathogens, iii) to elucidate the mechanism whereby they exert their effect and iv) explore methods for their large scale production. The application of the bioactives in animal production could help to reduce the presence of foodborne pathogens in food as well as limit the use of antibiotics for the treatment of animal diseases.