Mol Ecol 1998, 7:761–767.CrossRef Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Authors’ find more contributions MGP defined the whole experimental plan of the research, organized the fieldwork and identified the zoological samples; LM, MS and IMS performed the gut microscopy and the cloning and sequencing of microbial 16S

genes and constructed the phylogeny trees; ALD, AP, MB and LD organized the logistics of the speleological expedition into the cave, collected the insect samples and recorded their in-situ behaviour, MK-8931 ASE provided the data of microbial colonization of the cave substrate moonmilk and discussed its similarity with the Cansiliella microbiota; AT and BB performed the fluorescent stereomicroscopy detection of bacteria on external appendages of the insect; GC performed the water chemical analysis of the cave environment; AS performed the bioinformatical analyses, the microbial ecology assessment and wrote the manuscript. All authors read click here and approved the final manuscript.”
“Background

Eggs contain a large variety of nutrients and are a source of balanced proteins with high nutritional value for humans. They are widely consumed throughout the world and are used in food processing for their technological properties. Their hygienic quality is of major concern especially when used as a raw nutrient. An egg is sterile when laid in non-pathological conditions but after being laid, it can be contaminated despite its efficient protective

barriers [1, 2]. The egg is protected physically by the eggshell and chemically by antibodies, known as IgYs, mainly concentrated in the egg yolk [3] and throughout the egg by numerous peptides and proteins possessing antimicrobial properties [4]. These molecules constitute an innate immunity and are secreted “preventively” by the hen ovary into the egg yolk to protect the embryo, and by the other oviduct segments into the other egg compartments (egg white, eggshell membranes and eggshell). Egg antimicrobial proteins and peptides operate via three main mechanisms: (i) sequestration of essential nutrients from bacteria by the chelation of minerals (iron) or from vitamins (biotin) by proteins such as ovotransferrin and avidin, respectively [5]; (ii) inactivation of exogenous proteases very necessary for microbial metabolism and invasion of host tissues (egg antiproteases including cystatin, ovomucoid and ovoinhibitor) [6]; (iii) direct lytic action on microorganisms by lysozyme or peptides belonging to the defensin family whose actions lead to the disruption of the bacterial cell wall [7]. The innate immunity of eggs is modulated by several parameters. Among these, genetic control has been demonstrated as the anti-Staphylocccus aureus and the anti-Salmonella Enteritidis activity of egg white have heritabilities (values reflecting the extent to which a phenotype is influenced by the genotype) of 0.16 and 0.13 respectively [8].