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Research Publications (Food Safety)

This page tracks research articles published in national and international peer-reviewed journals. Recent articles are available ahead of print and searchable by Journal, Article Title, and Category. Research publications are tracked across six categories: Bacterial Pathogens, Chemical Contaminants, Natural Toxins, Parasites, Produce Safety, and Viruses. Articles produced by USDA Grant Funding Agencies (requires login) and FDA Grant Funding Agencies (requires login) are also tracked in Scopus.

Displaying 1 - 25 of 107

  1. Environmental vibrio phage–bacteria interaction networks reflect the genetic structure of host populations

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Abstract Phages depend on their bacterial hosts to replicate. The habitat, density and genetic diversity of host populations are therefore key factors in phage ecology, but our ability to explore their biology depends on the isolation of a diverse and representative collection of phages from different sources. Here, we compared two populations of marine bacterial hosts and their phages collected during a time series sampling program in an oyster farm.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Vibrio
  2. Responses of Salmonella biofilms to oxidising biocides: evidence of spatial clustering

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. The spatial organization of biofilm bacterial communities can be influenced by several factors, including growth conditions and challenge with antimicrobials. Differential survival of clusters of cells within biofilms has been observed.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Salmonella
  3. Sequestration and efflux largely account for cadmium and copper resistance in the deep sea Nitratiruptor sp. SB155‐2 (Phylum Campylobacterota)

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. In deep-sea hydrothermal vent environments, metal-enriched fluids and sediments abound, making these habitats ideal to study metal resistance in prokaryotes.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Campylobacter
      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  4. Adaptations to high pressure of Nautilia sp. strain PV‐1, a piezophilic Campylobacterium (aka Epsilonproteobacterium) isolated from a deep‐sea hydrothermal vent

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. Physiological and gene expression studies of deep-sea bacteria under pressure conditions similar to those experienced in their natural habitat are critical for understanding growth kinetics and metabolic adaptations to in situ conditions. The Campylobacterium (aka Epsilonproteobacterium) Nautilia sp.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Campylobacter
  5. The pan‐genome of Splendidus clade species in the family Vibrionaceae: insights into evolution, adaptation, and pathogenicity

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. The Splendidus clade is the largest clade in Vibrionaceae, and its members are often related to mortality of marine animals with huge economic losses. The molecular bases of their pathogenicity and virulence, however, remain largely unknown.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Vibrio
  6. Ecophysiological and genomic analyses of a representative isolate of highly abundant Bacillus cereus strains in contaminated subsurface sediments

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. Bacillus cereus strain CPT56D-587-MTF (CPTF) was isolated from the highly contaminated Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) subsurface. This site is contaminated with high levels of nitric acid and multiple heavy metals. Amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes (V4 region) in sediment from this area revealed an amplicon sequence variant (ASV) with 100% identity to the CPTF 16S rRNA sequence.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Bacillus cereus
  7. Plantaricin A reverses resistance to ciprofloxacin of multidrug‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus by inhibiting efflux pumps

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView. Overexpression of Staphylococcus aureus efflux pumps is commonly associated with antibiotic resistance, causing conventional antibiotics to be unsuccessful in combating multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. Reducing the activity of the efflux pump is an urgently required to tackle this problem.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Staphylococcus aureus
  8. Antibacterial efficacy of in‐house designed cell‐penetrating peptide against multi‐drug resistant strains of Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, Volume 24, Issue 6, Page 2747-2758, June 2022. The in vitro antibacterial efficacy of an in-house designed cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) variant of Cecropin A (1–7)-Melittin (CAMA) (CAMA-CPP) against the characterized multi-drug resistant (MDR) field strains of Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium were evaluated and compared with two identified CPPs namely, P7 and APP, keeping CAMA as contr

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Salmonella
  9. Adaptation of Listeria monocytogenes to perturbation of c‐di‐AMP metabolism underpins its role in osmoadaptation and identifies a fosfomycin uptake system

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Listeria monocytogenes
  10. Air pollution induces Staphylococcus aureus USA300 respiratory tract colonization mediated by specific bacterial genetic responses involving the global virulence gene regulators Agr and Sae

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView. Exposure to particulate matter (PM), a major component of air pollution, is associated with exacerbation of chronic respiratory disease, and infectious diseases such as community-acquired pneumonia. Although PM can cause adverse health effects through direct damage to host cells, our previous study showed that PM can also impact bacterial behaviour by promoting in vivo colonization.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Staphylococcus aureus
  11. Secretome analysis reveals a role of subinhibitory concentrations of polymyxin B in the survival of Vibrio cholerae mediated by the type VI secretion system

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, Volume 24, Issue 3, Page 1133-1149, March 2022. Antimicrobials are commonly used in prevention of infections including in aquaculture, agriculture and medicine. Subinhibitory concentrations of antimicrobial peptides can modulate resistance, virulence and persistence effectors in Gram-negative pathogens.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Vibrio
  12. Life‐history of oysters influence Vibrio parahaemolyticus accumulation in Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas)

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection in humans is associated with raw oyster consumption. Evaluation of V. parahaemolyticus presence in oysters is of most interest because of the economic and public health issues that it represents. To explore V. parahaemolyticus accumulation and depuration in adult Crassostrea gigas, we developed a GFP-tagged V.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Vibrio
  13. Environmental parameters associated with incidence and transmission of pathogenic Vibrio spp.

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, Volume 23, Issue 12, Page 7314-7340, December 2021. Vibrio spp. thrive in warm water and moderate salinity, and they are associated with aquatic invertebrates, notably crustaceans and zooplankton. At least 12 Vibrio spp. are known to cause infection in humans, and Vibrio cholerae is well documented as the etiological agent of pandemic cholera.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Vibrio
  14. Ecology of Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria species in India: the occurrence, resistance to biocides, genomic landscape and biocontrol

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Listeria monocytogenes
  15. Interactions between Bdellovibrio and like organisms and bacteria in biofilms: beyond predator–prey dynamics

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Vibrio
  16. Campylobacterota dominate the microbial communities in a tropical karst subterranean estuary, with implications for cycling and export of nitrogen to coastal waters

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, Volume 23, Issue 11, Page 6749-6763, November 2021.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Campylobacter
  17. Low occurrence of multi‐antimicrobial and heavy metal resistance in Salmonella enterica from wild birds in the United States

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView. Antibiotics and heavy metals are used to treat and prevent bacterial infections in humans and food-producing animals (Argudín et al., 2019; WHO, 2021).

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Salmonella
  18. Ruminant‐associated Listeria monocytogenes isolates belong preferentially to dairy‐associated hypervirulent clones: a longitudinal study in 19 farms

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Listeria monocytogenes
  19. Low occurrence of multi‐antimicrobial and heavy metal resistance in Salmonella enterica from wild birds in the United States

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView. Wild birds are common reservoirs of Salmonella enterica. Wild birds carrying resistant S. enterica may pose a risk to public health as they can spread the resistant bacteria across large spatial scales within a short time. Here, we whole-genome sequenced 375 S. enterica strains from wild birds collected in 41 U.S. states during 1978–2019 to examine bacterial resistance to antibiotics and heavy metals. We found that Typhimurium was the dominant S.

      • Salmonella
      • Bacterial pathogens
  20. Ruminant‐associated Listeria monocytogenes isolates belong preferentially to dairy‐associated hypervirulent clones: a longitudinal study in 19 farms

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. Studies have shown that ruminants constitute reservoirs of Listeria monocytogenes, but little is known about the epidemiology and genetic diversity of this pathogen within farms. Here we conducted a large-scale longitudinal study to monitor Listeria spp. in 19 dairy farms during three consecutive seasons (N=3251 samples). L. innocua was the most prevalent species, followed by L. monocytogenes. L.

      • Listeria monocytogenes
      • Bacterial pathogens
  21. Ecology of Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria species in India: the occurrence, resistance to biocides, genomic landscape and biocontrol

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, EarlyView. Listeria monocytogenes, the causative agent of listeriosis, has been implicated in increasing foodborne outbreaks worldwide. The disease is manifested in various forms ranging from severe sepsis in immune-compromised individuals, febrile gastroenteritis, still birth, abortions and meningoencephalitis. In India, data from studies on the detection and molecular epidemiological analysis of L. monocytogenes are only recently emerging.

      • Listeria monocytogenes
      • Bacterial pathogens
  22. Antibacterial efficacy of in‐house designed cell‐penetrating peptide against multi‐drug resistant strains of Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. The in vitro antibacterial efficacy of an in-house designed cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) variant of Cecropin A (1–7)-Melittin (CAMA) (CAMA-CPP) against the characterized multi-drug resistant (MDR) field strains of and Salmonella Typhimurium were evaluated and compared with two identified CPPs namely, P7 and APP, keeping CAMA as control.

      • Salmonella
      • Bacterial pathogens
  23. Secretome Analysis Reveals A Role of Subinhibitory Concentrations of Polymyxin B in the Survival of A Vibrio Cholerae Mediated by the Type VI Secretion System

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. Antimicrobials are commonly used in prevention of infections including in aquaculture, agriculture and medicine. Subinhibitory concentrations of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) can modulate resistance, virulence and persistence effectors in Gram-negative pathogens.

      • Vibrio
      • Bacterial pathogens
  24. Role of the YehD fimbriae in the virulence‐associated properties of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. ABSTRACT

      • Bacterial pathogens
  25. Whole‐genome analysis of Klebsiella pneumoniae from bovine mastitis milk in the U.S.

    • Environmental Microbiology
    • Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. Dairy cattle mastitis has long been one of the most common and costly diseases in dairy industry worldwide, due to its significant impact on milk production and animal welfare. Among all mastitis causing bacterial pathogens, Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) causes the largest milk loss. To better understand the genomic features of this population, 180 K. pneumoniae strains isolated from dairy cattle mastitis milk in 11 U.S.

      • Bacterial pathogens