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  • 1
    Publication Date: 2014-09-06
    Description: Increases in crop yields and changing cropping patterns have placed stress on agribusiness handling and storage facilities. The objective of this research is to gain insight into the relationship between safety culture and safety performance, and to identify the determinants of safety culture in agribusinesses. The research suggests that investments in labor inputs such as increased training, consistent discipline, and recognition of safety achievements all increase safety culture. Furthermore, improvements in employee perceptions of safety culture have a positive impact on reducing employee injuries. Congress has recently funded nine centers to work on occupational health and safety research in agriculture, fisheries, and forestry.
    Keywords: J43 - Agricultural Labor Markets, L66 - Food ; Beverages ; Cosmetics ; Tobacco ; Wine and Spirits, Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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  • 2
    Publication Date: 2016-05-12
    Description: Wood-rotting fungi possess remarkably diverse extracellular oxidation mechanisms, including enzymes, such as laccase and peroxidases, and Fenton chemistry. The ability to biologically drive Fenton chemistry by the redox cycling of quinones has previously been reported to be present in both ecologically diverging main groups of wood-rotting basidiomycetes. Therefore, we investigated whether it is even more widespread among fungal organisms. Screening of a diverse selection of a total of 18 ascomycetes and basidiomycetes for reduction of the model compound 2,6-dimethoxy benzoquinone revealed that all investigated strains were capable of reducing it to its corresponding hydroquinone. In a second step, depolymerization of the synthetic polymer polystyrene sulfonate was used as a proxy for quinone-dependent Fenton-based biodegradation capabilities. A diverse subset of the strains, including environmentally ubiquitous molds, white-rot fungi, as well as peatland and aquatic isolates, caused substantial depolymerization indicative for the effective employment of quinone redox cycling as biodegradation tool. Our results may also open up new paths to utilize diverse fungi for the bioremediation of recalcitrant organic pollutants.
    Keywords: Environmental Microbiology
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
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  • 3
    Publication Date: 2016-05-12
    Description: Ice-binding proteins (IBPs), such as antifreeze proteins (AFPs) and ice-nucleating proteins (INPs), have been described in diverse cold-adapted organisms, and their potential applications in biotechnology have been recognized in various fields. Currently, both IBPs are being applied to biotechnological processes, primarily in medicine and the food industry. However, our knowledge regarding the diversity of bacterial IBPs is limited; few studies have purified and characterized AFPs and INPs from bacteria. Phenotypically verified IBPs have been described in members belonging to Gammaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Flavobacteriia classes, whereas putative IBPs have been found in Gammaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria and Bacilli classes. Thus, the main goal of this minireview is to summarize the current information on bacterial IBPs and their application in biotechnology, emphasizing the potential application in less explored fields such as agriculture. Investigations have suggested the use of INP-producing bacteria antagonists and AFPs-producing bacteria (or their AFPs) as a very attractive strategy to prevent frost damages in crops. UniProt database analyses of reported IBPs (phenotypically verified) and putative IBPs also show the limited information available on bacterial IBPs and indicate that major studies are required.
    Keywords: Environmental Microbiology
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
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  • 4
    Publication Date: 2016-05-12
    Description: Triazophos is a broad-spectrum and highly effective insecticide, and the residues of triazophos have been frequently detected in the environment. A triazophos-degrading bacterium, Burkholderia sp. SZL-1, was isolated from a long-term triazophos-polluted soil. Strain SZL-1 could hydrolyze triazophos to 1-phenyl-3-hydroxy-1,2,4-triazole, which was further utilized as the carbon sources for growth. The triazophos hydrolase gene trhA , cloned from strain SZL-1, was expressed and homogenously purified using Ni-nitrilotriacetic acid affinity chromatography. TrhA is 55 kDa and displays maximum activity at 25°C, pH 8.0. This enzyme still has nearly 60% activity at the range of 15°C–50°C for 30 min. TrhA was mutated by sequential error prone PCR and screened for improved activity for triazophos degradation. One purified variant protein (Val89-Gly89) named TrhA-M1 showed up to 3-fold improvement in specific activity against triazophos, and the specificity constants of K cat and K cat / K m for TrhA-M1 were improved up to 2.3- and 8.28-fold, respectively, compared to the wild-type enzyme. The results in this paper provided potential material for the contaminated soil remediation and hydrolase genetic structure research.
    Keywords: Environmental Microbiology
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
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  • 5
    Publication Date: 2016-02-20
    Description: A total of 65 spore-forming mercury-resistant bacteria were isolated from natural environments worldwide in order to understand the acquisition of additional genes by and dissemination of mercury resistance transposons across related Bacilli genera by horizontal gene movement. PCR amplification using a single primer complementary to the inverted repeat sequence of Tn MERI1 -like transposons showed that 12 of 65 isolates had a transposon-like structure. There were four types of amplified fragments: Tn 5084 , Tn 5085 , Tn d MER3 (a newly identified deleted transposon-like fragment) and Tn 6294 (a newly identified transposon). Tn d MER3 is a 3.5-kb sequence that carries a merRETPA operon with no merB or transposase genes. It is related to the mer operon of Bacillus licheniformis strain FA6-12 from Russia. DNA homology analysis shows that Tn 6294 is an 8.5-kb sequence that is possibly derived from Tn d MER3 by integration of a Tn MERI1 -type transposase and resolvase genes and in addition the merR2 and merB1 genes. Bacteria harboring Tn 6294 exhibited broad-spectrum mercury resistance to organomercurial compounds, although Tn 6294 had only merB1 and did not have the merB2 and merB3 sequences for organomercurial lyases found in Tn 5084 of B. cereus strain RC607. Strains with Tn 6294 encode mercuric reductase (MerA) of less than 600 amino acids in length with a single N-terminal mercury-binding domain, whereas MerA encoded by strains MB1 and RC607 has two tandem domains. Thus, Tn d MER3 and Tn 6294 are shorter prototypes for Tn MERI1 -like transposons. Identification of Tn 6294 in Bacillus sp. from Taiwan and in Paenibacillus sp. from Antarctica indicates the wide horizontal dissemination of Tn MERI1 -like transposons across bacterial species and geographical barriers.
    Keywords: Environmental Microbiology
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
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  • 6
    Publication Date: 2016-02-20
    Description: Legionella pneumophila is a pathogenic bacterium commonly found in water and responsible for severe pneumonia. Free-living amoebae are protozoa also found in water, which feed on bacteria by phagocytosis. Under favorable conditions, some L. pneumophila are able to resist phagocytic digestion and even multiply within amoebae. However, it is not clear whether L. pneumophila could infect at a same rate a large range of amoebae or if there is some selectivity towards specific amoebal genera or strains. Also, most studies have been performed using collection strains and not with freshly isolated strains. In our study, we assess the permissiveness of freshly isolated environmental strains of amoebae, belonging to three common genera (i.e. Acanthamoeba, Naegleria and Vermamoeba ), for growth of L. pneumophila at three different temperatures. Our results indicated that all the tested strains of amoebae were permissive to L. pneumophila Lens and that there was no significant difference between the strains. Intracellular proliferation was more efficient at a temperature of 40°C. In conclusion, our work suggests that, under favorable conditions, virulent strains of L. pneumophila could equally infect a large number of isolates of common freshwater amoeba genera.
    Keywords: Environmental Microbiology
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
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  • 7
    Publication Date: 2016-03-31
    Description: This case study examines the challenges of implementing a vaguely defined concept called sustainability in a large organization that also has a cooperative structure. Stakeholder theory is described and applied to a multinational dairy firm. The case firm, Land O'Lakes, must balance the needs of multiple constituencies: the general public, employees, cooperative members, external funding organizations, and the management team. One challenge is to define sustainability for the entire dairy industry. The case discusses the strategies used by firms in developing a sustainability response where the tradeoffs between different strategies are between credibility and autonomy and using an industry rather than a firm-level response.
    Keywords: L15 - Information and Product Quality ; Standardization and Compatibility, L66 - Food ; Beverages ; Cosmetics ; Tobacco ; Wine and Spirits, M14 - Corporate Culture ; Social Responsibility, Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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  • 8
    Publication Date: 2016-02-12
    Description: Here we report a newly identified ‘Chalky back’ phenomenon in banana prawns ( Fenneropenaeus merguiensis ) farmed in North Queensland, Australia. This was characterized by localized white discoloured segmentation of the cervical groove, moreover, after cooking the prawns exploded, making them unfit for commercial sale. Histological examination revealed breakdown of gut and abdominal muscle tissue in some moribund specimens. We selectively isolated Vibrio spp., which are known prawn pathogens, from healthy and Chalky back specimens. Isolated bacteria were identified, typed and tested for the presence of eight virulence genes (VGs), biofilm formation, adherence and cytotoxicity to fish cells. In all, 32 isolates were recovered and identified as Vibrio harveyi , V. owensii , V. sinaloensis -like, V. campbellii , V. shilonii , Vibrio sp. and Photobacterium damselae using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. All V. harveyi carried VGs coding for haemolysin, tox R and flagella; formed biofilm; and adhered to both cell lines. This was similar to the V. sinaloensis -like strains that were only isolated from Chalky back specimens. Our data suggest that Vibrio spp. may play a role in the pathogenesis of Chalky back. This study is the first report of Chalky back phenomenon in farmed banana prawns that needs to be closely monitored by the industry.
    Keywords: Environmental Microbiology
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
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  • 9
    Publication Date: 2016-10-12
    Description: Carbonyl sulfide (COS) is an atmospheric trace gas and one of the sources of stratospheric aerosol contributing to climate change. Although one of the major sinks of COS is soil, the distribution of COS degradation ability among bacteria remains unclear. Seventeen out of 20 named bacteria belonging to Actinomycetales had COS degradation activity at mole fractions of 30 parts per million by volume (ppmv) COS. Dietzia maris NBRC 15801 T and Mycobacterium sp. THI405 had the activity comparable to a chemolithoautotroph Thiobacillus thioparus THI115 that degrade COS by COS hydrolase for energy production. Among 12 bacteria manifesting rapid degradation at 30 ppmv COS, D. maris NBRC 15801 T and Streptomyces ambofaciens NBRC 12836 T degraded ambient COS (~500 parts per trillion by volume). Geodermatophilus obscurus NBRC 13315 T and Amycolatopsis orientalis NBRC 12806 T increased COS concentrations. Moreover, six of eight COS-degrading bacteria isolated from soils had partial nucleotide sequences similar to that of the gene encoding clade D of β-class carbonic anhydrase, which included COS hydrolase. These results indicate the potential importance of Actinomycetes in the role of soils as sinks of atmospheric COS.
    Keywords: Environmental Microbiology
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
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  • 10
    Publication Date: 2014-07-23
    Description: We study the effect of alleviating the information asymmetry regarding product quality that is widespread in contracts between agricultural producers and buyers in developing countries. Opportunistic buyers may underreport quality levels to farmers to reduce the price that they have to pay. In response, farmers may curb investment, thereby negatively affecting farm productivity. In an experiment, we entitle randomly selected smallholder dairy farmers in Vietnam, who are contracted by a large company, to independently verify milk testing results. Results indicate that treatment farmers use 12% more inputs, and they also increase their output significantly. Some wider research and policy implications are discussed.
    Keywords: C93 - Field Experiments, D82 - Asymmetric and Private Information, O13 - Agriculture ; Natural Resources ; Energy ; Environment ; Other Primary Products, Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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