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1. Advances in Foodborne Pathogen Analysis

   https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9111635  

   Bhunia, Arun K.; Bisha, Bledar; Gehring, Andrew G.; Brehm-Stecher, Byron F. (November 2020, Foods)

   null (Ed.)

   As the world population has grown, new demands on the production of foods have been met by increased efficiencies in production, from planting and harvesting to processing, packaging and distribution to retail locations. These efficiencies enable rapid intranational and global dissemination of foods, providing longer “face time” for products on retail shelves and allowing consumers to make healthy dietary choices year-round. However, our food production capabilities have outpaced the capacity of traditional detection methods to ensure our foods are safe. Traditional methods for culture-based detection and characterization of microorganisms are time-, labor- and, in some instances, space- and infrastructure-intensive, and are therefore not compatible with current (or future) production and processing realities. New and versatile detection methods requiring fewer overall resources (time, labor, space, equipment, cost, etc.) are needed to transform the throughput and safety dimensions of the food industry. Access to new, user-friendly, and point-of-care testing technologies may help expand the use and ease of testing, allowing stakeholders to leverage the data obtained to reduce their operating risk and health risks to the public. The papers in this Special Issue on “Advances in Foodborne Pathogen Analysis” address critical issues in rapid pathogen analysis, including preanalytical sample preparation, portable and field-capable test methods, the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in zoonotic pathogens and non-bacterial pathogens, such as viruses and protozoa. 

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2. Pathogen invasion history elucidates contemporary host pathogen dynamics

   https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219981  

   Vredenburg, Vance T.; McNally, Samuel V.; Sulaeman, Hasan; Butler, Helen M.; Yap, Tiffany; Koo, Michelle S.; Schmeller, Dirk S.; Dodge, Celeste; Cheng, Tina; Lau, Gordon; et al (September 2019, PLOS ONE)

   Kerby, Jake (Ed.)
3. Evolutionary rescue in host‐pathogen systems*

   https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14269  

   Searle, Catherine_L; Christie, Mark_R (June 2021, Evolution)
4. Galectins in Host–Pathogen Interactions: Structural, Functional and Evolutionary Aspects

   https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1580-4_7  

   Vasta, G (January 2020, Advances in experimental medicine and biology)

   Galectins are a family of ß-galactoside-binding lectins characterized by a unique sequence motif in the carbohydrate recognition domain, and evolutionary and structural conservation from fungi to invertebrates and vertebrates, including mammals. Their biological roles, initially understood as limited to recognition of endogenous (“self”) carbohydrate ligands in embryogenesis and early development, dramatically expanded in later years by the discovery of their roles in tissue repair, cancer, adipogenesis, and regulation of immune homeostasis. In recent years, however, evidence has also accumulated to support the notion that galectins can bind (“non-self”) glycans on the surface of potentially pathogenic microbes, and function as recognition and effector factors in innate immunity. Thus, this evidence has established a newparadigm by which galectins can function not only as pattern recognition receptors but also as effector factors, by binding to the microbial surface and inhibiting adhesion and/or entry into the host cell, directly killing the potential pathogen by disrupting its surface structures, or by promoting phagocytosis, encapsulation, autophagy, and pathogen clearance from circulation. Strikingly, some viruses, bacteria, and protistan parasites take advantage of the aforementioned recognition roles of the vector/host galectins, for successful attachment and invasion. These recent findings suggest that galectin-mediated innate immune recognition and effector mechanisms, which throughout evolution have remained effective for preventing or fighting viral, bacterial, and parasitic infection, have been “subverted” by certain pathogens by unique evolutionary adaptations of their surface glycome to gain host entry, and the acquisition of effective mechanisms to evade the host’s immune responses. 

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5. Nutrient enrichment increases invertebrate herbivory and pathogen damage in grasslands

   https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13801  

   Ebeling, Anne; Strauss, Alex T.; Adler, Peter B.; Arnillas, Carlos A.; Barrio, Isabel C.; Biederman, Lori A.; Borer, Elizabeth T.; Bugalho, Miguel N.; Caldeira, Maria C.; Cadotte, Marc W.; et al (October 2021, Journal of Ecology)

   Abstract Plant damage by invertebrate herbivores and pathogens influences the dynamics of grassland ecosystems, but anthropogenic changes in nitrogen and phosphorus availability can modify these relationships.Using a globally distributed experiment, we describe leaf damage on 153 plant taxa from 27 grasslands worldwide, under ambient conditions and with experimentally elevated nitrogen and phosphorus.Invertebrate damage significantly increased with nitrogen addition, especially in grasses and non‐leguminous forbs. Pathogen damage increased with nitrogen in grasses and legumes but not forbs. Effects of phosphorus were generally weaker. Damage was higher in grasslands with more precipitation, but climatic conditions did not change effects of nutrients on leaf damage. On average, invertebrate damage was relatively higher on legumes and pathogen damage was relatively higher on grasses. Community‐weighted mean damage reflected these functional group patterns, with no effects of N on community‐weighted pathogen damage (due to opposing responses of grasses and forbs) but stronger effects of N on community‐weighted invertebrate damage (due to consistent responses of grasses and forbs).Synthesis. As human‐induced inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus continue to increase, understanding their impacts on invertebrate and pathogen damage becomes increasingly important. Our results demonstrate that eutrophication frequently increases plant damage and that damage increases with precipitation across a wide array of grasslands. Invertebrate and pathogen damage in grasslands is likely to increase in the future, with potential consequences for plant, invertebrate and pathogen communities, as well as the transfer of energy and nutrients across trophic levels. 

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