RCG participated in collection of contaminated Brazil nut and fungal isolation. VSA conceived the study, participated in collection of contaminated Brazil nut and fungal isolation. DMCB conceived the study, participated in collection of contaminated Brazil nut, fungal isolation and molecular-based identification. RNGM conceived the study, participated in DNA extraction, polyphasic identification, sequencing and analysis, primer development and validation, RFLP analysis and drafted the manuscript. All authors have Belinostat nmr contributed to, read and approved the final manuscript.”
“Background The microbial community inhabiting the human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) can

be seen as an additional organ within the body able to produce key factors and bring about specific metabolic pathways within the human body [1–3]. Overall, the structure and Selleckchem Semaxanib composition of this ecosystem reflects a natural selection at both microbial and host levels in order to develop cooperation

aimed at functional stability [4]. This interaction mainly occurs at the interface of the mucus and epithelial cell barrier and may influence the regulation of host’s immune and hormonal systems [5–8]. This close cross-talk is a complex area of study due to the limited accessibility of the human GIT and the intrinsic limitations in recreating in vitro conditions relevant for an in vivo-like interaction [9, 10]. In the last two decades, the need for systems that closely mimic the in vivo situation led to the creation of dynamic in vitro simulators in an attempt to reproduce the physiological parameters of the GIT environment that influence the GI microbial community and its metabolic activity [11–13]. Both the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) support, as a Prostatic acid phosphatase complementary tool, the use of the in vitro

approach in order to provide evidence of the mechanisms by which a food/constituent could exert the claimed effect, and of the biological plausibility of the specific claim (as reported in the respective guidance). The most intensively used gut simulators include the three-stage continuous culture system, the SHIME® (Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem), the EnteroMix, the Lacroix model and the TIM-2 device [14]. Although these systems offer a good reproducibility in terms of analysis of the luminal microbial community [10, 14, 15], other aspects, such as adhesion of bacteria and host-microbiota interaction are not systematically addressed [16]. Adhesion can be evaluated by means of cell immobilization in anaerobic continuous-flow cultures [17, 18]; by encasing mucin beads within a dialysis membrane [19]; by introducing sterile porcine mucin gels in small glass tubes [20] or on plastic carriers (M-SHIME) [21] to determine how intestinal bacteria colonize and degrade mucus.