Required Reading 2: Enteric pathogens in produce

Current Opinion in Biotechnology
Volume 20, Issue 2, April 2009, Pages 166-171
Food biotechnology / Plant biotechnology

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2009.03.002

Human enteric pathogens in produce: un-answered ecological questions with direct implications for food safety

Max Teplitski^1, , Jeri D Barak² and Keith R Schneider³

¹Department of Soil and Water Science, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), Gainesville, FL 32611, United States

²Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, United States

³Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Florida, IFAS, Gainesville, FL 32611, United States

Available online 6 April 2009.

Recent outbreaks of gastroenteritis linked to the consumption of fresh produce raise questions about the mechanisms by which human pathogens colonize plants and persist within marketable produce. Neither Salmonella nor Escherichia coli appear to produce enzymes that degrade plant cell walls, therefore it is not yet certain how these bacteria enter plant tissues and spread within them. Similar to plant-associated bacteria, enterics use cellulose and aggregative fimbriae for their attachment to plant surfaces. Salmonella can be an effective plant endophyte, even though it is capable of triggering plant defenses. Plant-associated microbiota contributes to the fitness and translocation of these human pathogens within plant hosts, although interactions and mechanisms of communication between plant-associated microbiota and enteric pathogens are not yet characterized.