Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT: Escherichia albertii is an emerging foodborne pathogen. The source of the E. albertii infection in most foodborne outbreaks is unknown because E. albertii is difficult to isolate from suspected food or water. E. albertii has a broad host range among birds and can be isolated from chicken meat. In this study, PCR assay, enrichment, and isolation conditions for detecting E. albertii in chicken meat were evaluated. The growth of 47 E. albertii strains isolated in Japan between 1994 and 2018 and a type strain was evaluated in modified EC broth (mEC) and mEC supplemented with novobiocin (NmEC) and on media containing carbohydrates. The enzyme used for the nested PCR, the enrichment conditions, the most-probable-number (MPN) method, and agar media were also evaluated with chicken meat. To distinguish E. albertii from presumptive non-E. albertii bacteria, desoxycholate hydrogen sulfide lactose agar (DHL), MacConkey agar (MAC), and these agars supplemented with rhamnose and xylose (RX-DHL and RX-MAC, respectively) were used. All E. albertii strains grew in mEC and NmEC at both 36 and 42°C and did not utilize rhamnose, sucrose, or xylose. Both the first and nested PCRs with TaKaRa Ex Taq, which was 10 to 100 times more active than the other enzymes, produced positive results in enrichment culture of 25 g of chicken meat inoculated with >20 CFU of E. albertii and incubated in mEC and NmEC at 42°C for 22 ± 2 h. Thus, the first PCR was sensitive enough to detect E. albertii in chicken meat. The MPN values in mEC and NmEC were 0.5- and 2.3-fold higher than the original inoculated bacterial levels, respectively. E. albertii in chicken meat was more efficiently isolated with enrichment in NmEC (70.1 to 100%) and plating onto RX-DHL (85.4%) and RX-MAC (100%) compared with enrichment in mEC (53.5 to 83.3%) and plating onto DHL (70.1%) and MAC (92.4%). Thus, optimized conditions for the surveillance of E. albertii contamination in food and investigations of E. albertii outbreaks, including the infectious dose, were clarified.
Source: Journal of Food Protection
DOI: 10.4315/jfp-20-206
Authors: Sakura Arai, Kayoko Ohtsuka, Noriko Konishi, Kenji Ohya, Takayuki Konno, Yuki Tokoi, Hiromi Nagaoka, Yukiko Asano, Hiroyuki Maruyama, Hiroko Uchiyama, Takatoshi Takara, Yukiko Hara-Kudo
Institutions: ORCID, National Institute of Health Sciences, Saitama Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health, Akita Research Center for Public Health and Environment, Utsunomiya City Institute of Public Health and Environmental Science, Ehime Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environmental Science, Fukuoka City Institute of Health and Environment, Miyazaki Prefectural Institute for Public Health and Environment, Okinawa Prefectural Institute of Health and Environment
Language: English
Subfield: Microbiology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,300
OpenAlex ID: W3097449178