Aqueous Ozone Exposure Inhibits Sporulation in the Cyclospora cayetanensis Surrogate Eimeria acervulina
•Aqueous ozone effectively blocks sporulation in a model coccidian.•Lowering pH of aqueous ozone solution stabilizes the rate of decomposition.•Ozone treatment induces an oxidative stress response in Eimeria oocysts.•Oxidative stress gene expression corresponds with reactive oxygen species profiles....
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| Published in: | Journal of food protection Vol. 87; no. 5; p. 100260 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
United States
Elsevier Inc
01-05-2024
Elsevier |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | •Aqueous ozone effectively blocks sporulation in a model coccidian.•Lowering pH of aqueous ozone solution stabilizes the rate of decomposition.•Ozone treatment induces an oxidative stress response in Eimeria oocysts.•Oxidative stress gene expression corresponds with reactive oxygen species profiles.
Ozone is a potent disinfecting agent used to treat potable water and wastewater, effectively clearing protozoa such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium spp. It is unclear whether ozone treatment of water or fresh produce can reduce the spread of the emerging parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis, which causes cyclosporiasis in humans. Obtaining viable C. cayetanensis oocysts to evaluate inactivation methods is challenging because we lack the means to propagate them in vitro, because of delays in case reporting, and because health departments typically add inactivating fixatives to clinical specimens. Research in various surrogate organisms has sought to bolster understanding of the biology of C. cayetanensis. Among these surrogates is the poultry parasite Eimeria acervulina, a closely related and easily cultured parasite of economic significance. We used this surrogate to evaluate the consequences of ozone treatment, using the sporulation state as an indicator of infectious potential. Treating with ozonated water acidified with citric acid reduced sporulation ability in a dose-dependent manner; treatment with up to 4.93 mg/L initial concentration of ozone resulted in a 93% inactivation of sporulation by 7 days posttreatment. This developmental arrest was accompanied by transcriptional changes in genes involved in regulating the response to reactive oxygen species (ROS) in a time course that is consistent with the production of oxygen free radicals. This study shows that ozone is highly effective in preventing sporulation of E. acervulina, a model coccidian used as a surrogate for Cyclospora. Furthermore, ozone exposure induced molecular responses to general oxidative stress, documented with several well-characterized antioxidant enzymes. |
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| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 0362-028X 1944-9097 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jfp.2024.100260 |