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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 1904

  1. Comparison of the fecal microbiota of adult healthy dogs fed a plant-based (vegan) or an animal-based diet

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • PurposePet guardians are increasingly seeking vegan dog foods. However, research on the impact of these diets on gastrointestinal (GI) physiology and health is limited. In humans, vegan diets modify the GI microbiota, increasing beneficial digestive microorganisms. This study aimed to examine the canine fecal microbiota in response to a vegan diet compared to an animal-based diet.MethodsSixty-one client-owned healthy adult dogs completed a randomized, double-blinded longitudinal study.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Campylobacter
  2. Identification of novel small molecule inhibitors of twin arginine translocation (Tat) pathway and their effect on the control of Campylobacter jejuni in chickens

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • IntroductionControl of Campylobacter from farm to fork is challenging due to the frequent emergence of antimicrobial-resistant isolates. Furthermore, poultry production systems are known reservoirs of Campylobacter. The twin-arginine translocation (Tat) pathway is a crucial bacterial secretion system that allows Campylobacter to colonize the host intestinal tract by using formate as the main source of energy.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Campylobacter
      • Chemical contaminants
      • Antibiotic residues
  3. Population characteristics of pathogenic Escherichia coli in puerperal metritis of dairy cows in Ningxia region of China: a systemic taxa distribution of virulence factors and drug resistance genes

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Escherichia coli (E. coli) is closely associated with the occurrence of puerperal metritis in dairy cows. E. coli carries some the virulence and multi-drug resistant genes, which pose a serious threat to the health of postpartum cows. In this study, E. coli was isolated and identified from the uterine contents of postpartum cows with puerperal metritis in the Ningxia region of China, and its phylogenetic subgroups were determined. Meanwhile, virulence and drug resistance genes carried by E.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli
  4. Protective effect of chicken yolk antibody Y against Campylobacter jejuni induced diarrhea in cats

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) is a common pathogen that often causes diarrhea, loss of appetite, and even enteritis in domestic cats, affecting their growth and development, especially in kittens under 6 months of age. Oral passive immunization with chicken yolk antibody Y has been proved effective for the treatment of gastrointestinal pathogen infections due to its high specificity. In this study, C.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Campylobacter
  5. Comprehensive whole genome analysis of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from dairy cows with subclinical mastitis

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Staphylococcus species are the primary cause of mastitis in dairy cows across the world. Staphylococcus aureus has recently become a pathogen that is zoonotic and multidrug resistant. This study aimed to sequence whole genomes of 38 S. aureus isolates from 55 subclinical mastitis dairy cows of 7 small-scale farmers in the Free State Province, South Africa and document and their antimicrobial and virulence genes.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Staphylococcus aureus
  6. Regulation of the growth performance and the gastrointestinal microbiota community by the addition of defective pear fermentation to feed of small-tailed Han sheep

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • This study investigated the effects of defective pear fermentation (DPF) diets on growth performance and gastrointestinal microbial communities in 60 healthy male small-tailed Han sheep, aged 90 days. The sheep were randomly divided into four groups, each consisting of three replicates with five sheep per replicate. Initially, all groups received a basal diet for seven days during the adaptation stage.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Staphylococcus aureus
  7. Genomic insights from Lactiplantibacillus plantarum BRD3A isolated from Atingba, a traditional fermented rice-based beverage and analysis of its potential for probiotic and antimicrobial activity against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Lactiplantibacillus plantarum BRD3A was isolated from Atingba, a traditional fermented rice-based beverage of Manipur. Its genomic sequence has 13 contigs and its genome size is 3,320,817 bp with a guanine–cytosine (GC) ratio of 44.6%. It comprises 3185 genes including 3112 coding sequences (CDSs), 73 RNAs (including 66 tRNAs and others), and one clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) array. A comparative and phylogenetic analysis with the Lp.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Staphylococcus aureus
  8. Peeling back the many layers of competitive exclusion

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Baby chicks administered a fecal transplant from adult chickens are resistant to Salmonella colonization by competitive exclusion. A two-pronged approach was used to investigate the mechanism of this process. First, Salmonella response to an exclusive (Salmonella competitive exclusion product, Aviguard®) or permissive microbial community (chicken cecal contents from colonized birds containing 7.85 Log10Salmonella genomes/gram) was assessed ex vivo using a S.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Salmonella
  9. Preventing microbe colonization on avocado (Persea nubigena var. guatemalensis) through metabiotic treatment, a promising postharvest safety improvement

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Introduction

      Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) produce various metabolites (i.e. metabiotics) with inhibitory capacity towards harmful foodborne pathogens.

      Methods

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Staphylococcus aureus
  10. Exploring the microbial ecosystem of Berchemia polyphylla var. leioclada: a comprehensive analysis of endophytes and rhizospheric soil microorganisms

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Endophytic and rhizospheric microorganisms associated with plants play a crucial role in plant health, pest and disease defense, and fruit yield by actively participating in the plant’s adaptation to its environment. In this study, high–throughput sequencing technology was employed to analyze the community structure and diversity of endophytic and rhizospheric soil microorganisms in Berchemia polyphylla var. leioclada.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Shigella
  11. Development and validation of a random forest algorithm for source attribution of animal and human Salmonella Typhimurium and monophasic variants of S. Typhimurium isolates in England and Wales utilising whole genome sequencing data

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Source attribution has traditionally involved combining epidemiological data with different pathogen characterisation methods, including 7-gene multi locus sequence typing (MLST) or serotyping, however, these approaches have limited resolution. In contrast, whole genome sequencing data provide an overview of the whole genome that can be used by attribution algorithms. Here, we applied a random forest (RF) algorithm to predict the primary sources of human clinical Salmonella Typhimurium (S.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Salmonella
  12. Multi-omics reveals the mechanism of rumen microbiome and its metabolome together with host metabolome participating in the regulation of milk production traits in dairy buffaloes

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Recently, it has been discovered that certain dairy buffaloes can produce higher milk yield and milk fat yield under the same feeding management conditions, which is a potential new trait. It is unknown to what extent, the rumen microbiome and its metabolites, as well as the host metabolism, contribute to milk yield and milk fat yield.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Vibrio
  13. Insights into the diversity and survival strategies of soil bacterial isolates from the Atacama Desert

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • The Atacama Desert, the driest, with the highest radiation, and one of the most ancient deserts in the world, is a hostile environment for life. We have a collection of 74 unique bacterial isolates after cultivation and confirmation by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Pigmentation, biofilm formation, antimicrobial production against Escherichia coli MG1655 and Staphylococcus aureus HG003, and antibiotic resistance were assessed on these isolates.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Staphylococcus aureus
  14. Nanopore sequencing for identification and characterization of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. from tilapia and shrimp sold at wet markets in Dhaka, Bangladesh

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Wet markets in low-and middle-income countries are often reported to have inadequate sanitation resulting in fecal contamination of sold produce. Consumption of contaminated wet market-sourced foods has been linked to individual illness and disease outbreaks. This pilot study, conducted in two major wet markets in Dhaka city, Bangladesh during a 4-month period in 2021 aimed to assess the occurrence and characteristics of Escherichia coli and non-typhoidal Salmonella spp.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Salmonella
  15. Prevalence and risk factors of seafood-borne Vibrio vulnificus in Asia: a systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-regression

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Vibrio vulnificus is a free-living marine bacterium associated with the contamination of fish and shellfish—the most consumed seafood in Asia. Owing to its potentially lethal clinical consequences, the consumption of seafood contaminated with V. vulnificus has become a growing public health concern. This systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-regression aimed to integrate data on the prevalence of seafood-borne V.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Vibrio
  16. Antimicrobial resistance and genomic investigation of Salmonella isolated from retail foods in Guizhou, China

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Introduction

      Salmonella is a major foodborne pathogen worldwide that causes severe morbidity and mortality. It is mainly caused by consuming contaminated food, with retail food considered the primary source.

      Methods

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Salmonella
  17. Combination of autochthonous Lactobacillus strains and trans-Cinnamaldehyde in water reduces Salmonella Heidelberg in turkey poults

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Reducing the colonization of Salmonella in turkeys is critical to mitigating the risk of its contamination at later stages of production. Given the increased susceptibility of newly hatched poults to Salmonella colonization, it is crucial to implement interventions that target potential transmission routes, including drinking water.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Salmonella
      • Produce Safety
      • Pre Harvest
  18. A bacteriophage cocktail can efficiently reduce five important Salmonella serotypes both on chicken skin and stainless steel

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Salmonella is one of the most important zoonotic pathogens and is mostly transmitted through food of animal origin. Application of bacteriophages is a promising tool to biocontrol Salmonella on both food and food contact surfaces. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of a six-phage cocktail for the reduction of Salmonella Enteritidis and a mixture of five major Salmonella serotypes (S.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Salmonella
  19. Strain-level characterization of foodborne pathogens without culture enrichment for outbreak investigation using shotgun metagenomics facilitated with nanopore adaptive sampling

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Introduction Shotgun metagenomics has previously proven effective in the investigation of foodborne outbreaks by providing rapid and comprehensive insights into the microbial contaminant. However, culture enrichment of the sample has remained a prerequisite, despite the potential impact on pathogen detection resulting from the growth competition.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Staphylococcus aureus
  20. Antibacterial and antibiofilm activities of protocatechualdehyde and its synergy with ampicillin against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Protocatechualdehyde (PA) is a phenolic acid present in many plants and has many biological activities. Herein, the antagonistic effects and the action mechanism of PA against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were studied. The results showed that PA had both significant antibacterial and anti-biofilm activities against MRSA. Additionally, PA had synergy with ampicillin against MRSA.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Staphylococcus aureus
  21. Temporal dynamics of volatile fatty acids profile, methane production, and prokaryotic community in an in vitro rumen fermentation system fed with maize silage

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Anaerobic in vitro fermentation is widely used to simulate rumen kinetics and study the microbiome and metabolite profiling in a controlled lab environment. However, a better understanding of the interplay between the temporal dynamics of fermentation kinetics, metabolic profiles, and microbial composition in in vitro rumen fermentation batch systems is required.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Campylobacter
  22. Impact of intense sanitization on environmental biofilm communities and the survival of Salmonella enterica at a beef processing plant

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Salmonella enterica is a leading cause of foodborne illness in the U.S. In the meat industry, one action taken to address pathogen contamination incidence is an intense sanitization (IS) of the entire processing plant that many large processors perform annually or semiannually. However, this procedure’s immediate and long-term impact on environment microbial community and pathogen colonization are unknown.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Salmonella
  23. Colonization of Raphanus sativus by human pathogenic microorganisms

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Contamination of vegetables with human pathogenic microorganisms (HPMOs) is considered one of the most important problems in the food industry, as current nutritional guidelines include increased consumption of raw or minimally processed organic vegetables due to healthy lifestyle promotion. Vegetables are known to be potential vehicles for HPMOs and sources of disease outbreaks.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Bacillus cereus
      • Listeria monocytogenes
      • Salmonella
  24. Toxicity evaluation of processing Evodiae fructus based on intestinal microbiota

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Background

      With the development of healthcare services, drug efficacy, and safety have become the focus of drug use, and processing alters drug toxicity and efficacy, exploring the effects of processing on Evodiae fructus (EF) can guide the clinical use of drugs.

      Methods

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Staphylococcus aureus
  25. Bacterial community changes in strawberry fruits (Fragaria × ananassa variety “Monterey”) from farm field to retail market stands, an indicator of postharvest contamination

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Background

      Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) fruits are vulnerable to bacterial contamination; some species are pathogenic and can affect human health. Comprehending the bacterial composition and diversity at different ripe stages is a key determinant of the fruit health, productivity, and quality.

      Methodology

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Salmonella