research titles on food microbiology

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Food microbiology articles from across Nature Portfolio

Food microbiology is the scientific study of microorganisms, both in food and used for the production of food. This includes microorganisms that contaminate food, as well as those used in its production; for example to produce yoghurt, cheese, beer and wine.

Latest Research and Reviews

Comprehensive antifungal investigation of natural plant extracts against Neosartorya spp. ( Aspergillus spp.) of agriculturally significant microbiological contaminants and shaping their metabolic profile

Wiktoria Maj
Giorgia Pertile
Magdalena Frąc

Comprehensive fluorescence profiles of contamination-prone foods applied to the design of microcontact-printed in situ functional oligonucleotide sensors

Shadman Khan
Amid Shakeri
Tohid F. Didar

Edible mycelium bioengineered for enhanced nutritional value and sensory appeal using a modular synthetic biology toolkit

Fungi have the potential to produce sustainable foods for a growing population, but current products are based on a small number of strains with inherent limitations. Here, the authors develop genetic tools for an edible fungus and engineer its nutritional value and sensory appeal for alternative meat applications.

Vayu Maini Rekdal
Casper R. B. van der Luijt
Jay D. Keasling

Impact of the diet in the gut microbiota after an inter-species microbial transplantation in fish

Alberto Ruiz
Enric Gisbert
Karl B. Andree

Cross-regulation of Aps-promoters in Lacticaseibacillus paracasei by the PsdR response regulator in response to lantibiotics

Manuel Zúñiga
Ainhoa Revilla-Guarinos

Improved sampling and DNA extraction procedures for microbiome analysis in food-processing environments

This protocol describes a method for sampling the microbiome of food-processing facilities and analyzing it by using whole-metagenome sequencing. The protocol includes sampling and DNA-extraction and DNA-purification steps optimized for low-biomass samples.

Coral Barcenilla
José F. Cobo-Díaz
Avelino Alvarez-Ordóñez

News and Comment

A bad apple.

This study suggests that fungicide treatment of stored fruit could contribute to the selection of resistant Candida auris .

Andrea Du Toit

Ensuring safety in artisanal food microbiology

Luca Cocolin
Marco Gobbetti
Daniele Daffonchio

Sexed-up beer

Engineers of scent

Companies exploring biotech approaches to flavor and fragrance production must navigate challenges in regulations, market dynamics and public perception. Emily Waltz investigates.

Emily Waltz

The food-borne identity

This month's Genome Watch discusses how whole-genome sequencing of bacterial pathogens complements existing techniques for analysing food-borne outbreaks.

Susannah J. Salter

US beef tests cook up a storm

Critics question benefits of broader E. coli screening.

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Manandmicrobes

43 Project Topics on Food Microbiology: Latest

Food microbiology is a branch of microbiology that focuses on the study of microorganisms in food. It plays a crucial role in ensuring food safety, quality, and preservation.

Engaging in a food microbiology project provides an opportunity to delve deeper into the intricate world of microorganisms present in our food and their impact on various aspects of the food industry.

Choosing Food Microbiology Project Topics

Selecting an appropriate and engaging project topic is essential in food microbiology research. It involves considering current trends, challenges, and advancements in the field.

Researching topics related to foodborne illnesses, emerging pathogens, food spoilage, or food preservation techniques can provide valuable insights and contribute to the existing body of knowledge.

Collaborating with experts and industry professionals can also offer guidance and ensure the relevance of the chosen topic.

Sample Food Microbiology Project Topics

1. Analyzing the microbial contamination of food-handling surfaces

This project aims to investigate the presence and persistence of microorganisms on different food contact surfaces and evaluate the effectiveness of sanitation practices.

2. Studying the role of microorganisms in food spoilage

This project focuses on identifying the microbial species responsible for food spoilage and understanding the factors that contribute to their growth and proliferation.

3 Investigating the effectiveness of food preservation techniques

This project aims to assess the efficiency of various food preservation methods, such as thermal processing, freezing, drying, or fermentation, in controlling microbial growth and extending the shelf life of food products.

4. The impact of processing methods on the microbial quality of dairy products

5. Investigating the microbial safety of raw and processed seafood

6. Assessing the effectiveness of natural antimicrobial compounds in food preservation

7. Microbiological analysis of fermented foods and their health benefits

Food microbiology seminar topics

Here’s a list of seminar topics in food microbiology:

1. Foodborne pathogens: Identification, detection, and control strategies

2. Microbial spoilage of food: Causes, mechanisms, and prevention

3. Emerging trends in food microbiology research

4. Microbiological safety of fresh produce: Challenges and solutions

5. Role of probiotics in promoting gut health and food safety

6. Microbial ecology of fermented foods and beverages

7. Antimicrobial resistance in foodborne bacteria: Implications and interventions

8. Foodborne viruses: Detection, transmission, and control measures

9. Microbial risks associated with seafood consumption

10. Microbiological quality and safety of street foods

11. Microorganisms in food processing environments: Monitoring and control

12. Microbial hazards in dairy products and their control strategies

14. Food preservation techniques: Traditional methods and emerging technologies

15. Microbial contamination of spices and herbs: Risks and mitigation

16. Food safety challenges in the era of global food trade

17. Role of biofilms in foodborne pathogen persistence and resistance

18. Advances in rapid methods for microbial analysis in food

19. Microbial risk assessment: Applications in food safety management

20. Microbial quality of ready-to-eat foods: Issues and control measures

21. Fermented foods as functional foods: Health benefits and safety considerations

Conducting a Literature Review

Before diving into the project, conducting a thorough literature review is crucial.

Exploring scientific journals , research databases, and reputable online sources allows researchers to gain a comprehensive understanding of the current knowledge and gaps in the chosen food microbiology topic.

Analyzing previous studies and findings provides a foundation for formulating a research question and hypothesis.

Developing a Research Question and Hypothesis

A well-defined research question is essential for any food microbiology project. It should be specific and address a gap in knowledge or provide a practical solution to a food safety or quality issue.

Based on the literature review, researchers can formulate a hypothesis, which serves as a testable prediction or explanation for the expected outcome of the experiment.

Designing and Planning the Experiment

Once the research question and hypothesis are established, designing and planning the experiment becomes the next crucial step.

Researchers need to identify appropriate food samples , research methodologies, and techniques necessary to carry out the study.

Creating a detailed experimental protocol and considering safety measures ensures a systematic and organized approach to the project.

Data Collection and Analysis

With the experimental plan in place, researchers proceed with gathering data by following the designed protocol.

This may involve collecting food samples, performing microbiological analysis, and utilizing specialized equipment.

Accurate and detailed record-keeping is essential for subsequent data analysis. Once the data is collected, researchers employ statistical methods and software to analyze the information and draw meaningful conclusions.

Interpreting and Discussing

Results After data collection, researchers interpret the gathered information and discuss the results.

The microbial data is compared with existing literature, and any discrepancies or novel discoveries are analyzed.

Researchers discuss the implications of their findings, highlighting the significance of the research in the context of food safety , quality, and preservation.

Presenting the Research

The final phase of a food microbiology project involves presenting the research findings.

Researchers can prepare a comprehensive research report or an oral presentation. Creating engaging visual aids, such as charts, graphs, or diagrams, helps convey information effectively and enhances audience understanding.

Presenting the research to peers, professors, and industry professionals provides an opportunity for valuable feedback and discussion.

Engaging in a food microbiology project allows researchers to explore the intricate world of microorganisms in our food.

By choosing an engaging and relevant topic, conducting a thorough literature review, designing and executing experiments, and analyzing the results, researchers contribute to scientific knowledge and address real-world challenges in food safety and quality.

FAQ Section

What are some emerging trends in food microbiology research .

Emerging trends in food microbiology research include studying the microbiome of food, exploring the role of microbial metabolites in food quality, and investigating the potential of using beneficial microbes for food preservation.

How can food microbiology research contribute to food safety?

Food microbiology research helps identify potential sources of contamination, develop effective preservation techniques, and understand the behavior of pathogenic microorganisms, ultimately leading to improved food safety practices.

What are some common methods used to analyze microbial contamination in food?

Common methods for analyzing microbial contamination in food include culture-based techniques, molecular methods like PCR, and next-generation sequencing for microbial identification and characterization.

Can I conduct a food microbiology project using basic laboratory equipment?

Yes, many food microbiology projects can be conducted using basic laboratory equipment such as an incubator, autoclave, microscope, and basic microbiological media. However, more specialized projects may require additional equipment.

Are there opportunities for publishing food microbiology research?

Yes, there are opportunities to publish food microbiology research in scientific journals and present findings at conferences or symposiums. It allows researchers to share their work with the scientific community and contribute to the field.

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Last Updated on June 2, 2023 by Our Editorial Team

List of Some Food Microbiology Project Topics in Pdf You Can Consider for Your Research

As a microbiology researcher, student or postgrad you may be required to work on specifically food microbiology project topics. This means you are going to specifically be looking for only microbiology research topics that have to do with food. Food microbiology research topics will focus on research about the microorganisms that inhabit, help create or contaminate food.

So we have quickly put together a list of food related microbiology project topics (pdf & word) for you.

Before you browse through the list if you wish to search our Research Database for food microbiology project topics and materials. See below;

Check out the Microbiology Research Section
Enter your topic or keywords in the search space if you already have a topic
Alternatively you can browse through and filter to get project, thesis or seminar topics

Now, for some food microbiology project topics

1. Microbiology of Polyethylene-Packaged Sliced Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) Sold by Street Vendors in Nigeria

Ten packaged, freshly sliced watermelon were collected from different street vendors to determine their microbiological quality. Eight different microbial isolates were obtained from the sliced watermelon samples, namely Escherichia coli, Klebsiella aerogenes, Proteus mirabilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Lactobacillus spp., Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Rhizopus stolonifer and Mucor spp.

2. Plasmid Profile Of Streptococcus lactis And Lactobacillus Plantarum Isolated From Ogi Encoding For Acetaldehyde In Yoghurt

An investigation was carried out on the plasmid profile of Streptococcus lactis and Lactobacillus plantanum isolated from a total of 120 samples collected from Oyingbo, a local market in Lagos State. Morphological, cultural, physiological characterization and API kits were employed to isolate and identify and treptococcus lactis and Lactobacillus plantanum

3. Isolation And Identification of Microorganisms From Herbal Mixtures Sold at Enugu Metropolis

The safety, efficacy and quality of herbal mixtures have been an important concern for health authorities and health professional, especially now there is increase in the use of herbal mixtures. This study was aimed at isolation and identification of microorganisms from some liquid herbal mixtures sold in Enugu metropolis, South East of Nigeria.

4. Physicochemical and Phytochemical Analysis of Honey and Shea Butter Samples and Their Antibacterial Effect on Staphylococcus aureus AND Klebsiella pneumoniae

This research work was carried out to examine the physicochemical and phytochemical constituents of honey and Shea butter samples respectively and their antibacterial effect on Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae . The physicochemical screening of honey showed that the honey samples used have low water activity, low moisture content, low pH value below 4.0 and Ash while the phytochemical analysis of Shea butter revealed the presence of Saponnins, Tannins, Alkaloids, Steroid and Phenol.

5. Characterising Growth Behaviour of Yeast Strains Isolated from Mango Fruit in Carbon, Nitrogen and Stress Environments

The present experiment aims at investigating the growth behaviour of different yeast strains inselected carbon, nitrogen and stress environment to obtain strains with prospects for industrialapplication. Specifically, the study is set to: isolate yeast from decaying mango fruit anddetermine growth performance of yeast strains in different environments, carbon, nitrogen andstressors.

6. Antimicrobial activities of selected plants (bitterleaf, utazi, and bitterkola leaf)extracts against fish pathogenic bacteria

Aquaculture has been a growing activity for the last 20 years worldwide and this impressive development has been attended by some practices potentially damaging to animal health. The bacterial infections are considered the major cause of mortality in aquaculture. Among the common fish pathogens, A. hydrophila and Y. ruckeri as gram-negative and S. agalactiae , L. garvieae and E. faecalis as grampositive bacteria cause infectious diseases.

7. MICROBIAL QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF LOCALLY PRODUCED KUNU SOLD AT TANKE AREA OF ILORIN METROPOLIS

Nine samples of freshly prepared kunu was taken from local vendors and hawkers at Tanke area, Ilorin, Kara State and analyzed for microbial quality. The pH of the samples ranged from 2.66 to 4.06. The total bacterial count ranged from 1.5×104 to 7.4×104 cfu/ml; the total coliform count ranged from 1.0×102 to 8.0x103cfu/ml; the faecal coliform count ranged from 0 to 3.0x103cfu/ml; the total fungi count ranged from 3.2×104 to 2.7x105cfu/ml. The presence of high microbial load was an indication of poor hygiene and/or poor quality cereals and water used in the preparation.

8. Phytochemical Analysis and Antimicrobial Effect of Calotropis procera (Sodom apple) Leaves Extract on Some Bacteria Isolated from Spoilt Nunu Milk

This study was carried to with the aim of determining the antibacterial effect of Calotropis procera against some bacteria isolated spoilt nunu. Bacteria isolated from spoilt nunu were identified based on their Gram characteristics, morphology and biochemical characteristics. Calotropis procera was extracted using ethanol, methanol and distilled water.

9. Antimicrobial Effect of Natural Honey and Mango Leave on Pathogenic Bacteria

Honey has since been found to possess antibacterial property and is therefore employed for wound and gastro-intestinal disease therapy. This study evaluates the antibacterial spectrum and efficacy of honey and compared with tetracycline. Different concentrations (50, 75 and 100.0 %) of honey were studied in-vitro using Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella spp, Escherichia coli and Citrobacter spp

10. Comparative Evaluation of Bacteria and Fungi Diseases Associated with Saccharum officinarum (Sugarcane) in Ethnobotanical Garden of Wesley University, Ondo

The comparative evaluation of the bacterial and fungal diseases associated with Saccharum officinarum (Sugarcane) in ethnobotanical garden of Wesley University, Ondo was carried out through different microbial processes.

11. Investigating The Presence Of Staphylococcus Aureus And Escherichia Coli In Dairy Products

Dairy products are various products derived from cow’s milk or that of other female mammals such as goat, sheep, yaks, horses, camel. Dairy products include yoghurt, nono (fermented cow’s milk, madara (unfermented cow’s milk, cheese, whey, condensed and evaporated milk.) (cultureforhealth, 2015).

12. ANTIFUNGAL EFFECT OF GARCINIA KOLA

The study determines the antifungal effects of aqueous, ethanolic and methanolic extracts of Garcinia kola on some selected fungal isolates and their phytochemical constituents. The antifungal sensitivity and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) were determined by agar well diffusion and agar dilution methods, respectively using Sabouraud dextrose agar.

13. ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF MICROORGANISMS RESPONSIBLE FOR SPOILAGE OF DAIRY PRODUCT (MILK, YOGHURT AND LOCALY PREPARED CHEESE)

Milk, Yoghurt and Cheese are highly valuable food which are readily digested and have high concentration of nutrients which have proved to be a heaven of microbes, studies were conducted on the isolation and identification of microbes [Fungi and Bacteria] on peak canned milk, yoghurt, locally prepared cheese and cheese water.

14. PRODUCTION AND QUALITY EVALUATION OF BANANA (MUSA SAPIENTUM) WINE

Juice was extracted from banana (Musa sapientum) pulp with the addition of lemon juice and was inoculated with Bakerâ€™s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and held at 30 for seven days. The result of the yeast count increases at 48hr, and at 96hr the yeast count decreased gradually. It ranges from 4.9×107 cfu/ml at 0hr, 5.1×107 at the 48hr and 4.8×107 cfu/ml at 168hr.

15. MICROBIOLOGICAL AND MICROBIAL ASSESSMENT OF COMMERCIALLY PREPARED YOGHURTS SOLD IN ENUGU

Intriguing food reflex discovered with a smartphone

by Rianne Lindhout, Leiden University

Psychologist Hilmar Zech found that overweight people are actually more attracted to food pictures after eating than before. He did so using an old research method that he revamped for use on smartphones. Zech will defend his Ph.D. on 30 April.

Addiction, phobia, and intuitive behavior: psychologists have discovered much about them with the Approach Avoidance Task. Hilmar Zech has successfully modernized this old research method.

"Participants sit behind a computer and can move a joystick towards or away from themselves. They must quickly react to images appearing on the screen: they can either bring them closer or remove them." This method has revealed much about unconscious behavior, which cannot be elucidated with questionnaires, for instance.

"For example, if you show erotic stimuli and someone pushes the joystick slightly too late away from themselves, you know from the reaction time that the actual reflex was different," says Zech.

The method has taught psychologists a lot about addictions, phobias, and intuitions. However, this could only be done behind computers in the research environment of psychology departments, familiar to many students who occasionally earned some money as test subjects .

"This has real drawbacks. For instance, someone's reaction to food varies throughout the day. You would want to test people at different times, before and after eating. This is difficult in this setting."

Zech taught himself programming, and took on the challenge at the Leiden Unit of Social, Economic, and Organizational Psychology to make the method applicable to a smartphone. "It required a completely different program, where you can measure responses not with a joystick, but with the movement of your phone."

Participants can move their phone towards or away from themselves in response to images they see. "In addition to reaction time, we can even measure more than with the joystick: we measure the force with which the phone is moved. That force provides extra information about the intensity of the response, on top of reaction time."

After the app was validated and proven reliable, Zech and his supervisors Lotte van Dillen and Wilco van Dijk made an intriguing discovery. "We showed people food images in their own environment, before and after eating. We expected that before eating, they would show more approach behavior towards images of food than after. That was true, but only for people with a healthy weight. People with overweight or obesity sometimes even showed the opposite: they exhibited stronger approach behavior towards food after eating."

According to Zech, this outcome could mean two things: "Perhaps people restrained themselves from eating too much during the meal and still have a strong desire for food. Or maybe they weren't thinking much about food before eating, but were still half-focused on their work. After eating, they might have been primed and respond more strongly to food images."

This is something other researchers can start to explore. Is Zech perhaps planning to retire quietly from the revenues of his handy app? He says, "I didn't apply for a patent. I'd rather have researchers be able to use the application for free." Besides his work as a postdoc at TU Dresden he continues to refine the app. "Researchers still need some assistance from me to set up the app properly. I want to ensure that everyone can customize everything to their needs, without my help, and store all data on their own server."

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Research Opportunities in Food & Agriculture Microbiology

This report presents a wealth of research opportunities in food and agriculture microbiology. The backdrop for these research opportunities is a world of microorganisms teeming with threats and benefits to abundant, healthy food and associated environments. Threats come from microbial pathogens that perpetrate a wide range of plant and animal diseases, destroying agricultural productivity. The constant spread and evolution of agricultural pathogens provides a continually renewed source of challenges to productivity and food safety. Pathogens continue to cause harm once food has left the farm, causing spoilage, and in some cases poisoning and diseases of humans and animals. New vulnerabilities are generated for agriculture by global movement of agricultural products, trading policies, industrial agricultural practices, and the potential for malicious releases of pathogens by “bioterrorists.” In addition to the threats, benefits also come from the many microorganisms associated with, or introduced into, our food supply where they serve important roles in bioprocessing, fermentation, or as probiotics.

Science and technology emerging from microbiology research can help meet these challenges to food and agriculture. Knowledge of microbial pathogens will lead to tools for surveillance and disease prevention. Beneficial microbes may find uses in protecting agriculture, preserving food, enhancing the value of food products and providing general benefits to health and well being. Complex interactions among microbes and agricultural systems must be better understood to facilitate the optimal use of beneficial microorganisms and maximal control of pathogens.

Opportunities in microbiology research are the gateway to sustaining and improving agriculture and food production, quality, and safety. Multidisciplinary research must be undertaken to capitalize on advances in different disciplines, such as genomics, nanotechnology, and computational biology. Research into the interactions of animal and plant hosts with pathogens and beneficial microbes is essential to preventing disease and encouraging mutualistic interactions. On a more holistic scale, interactions occurring among organisms within a microbial community require study so that a healthy balance between the highly managed ecosystems of industrial agriculture and the unmanaged ecosystems of the natural environment can be achieved. Finally, research is critical to determine why pathogens continue to emerge and where and how newly developed technologies should be put to use.

Barriers to seizing these research opportunities must be overcome. The lagging priority of food and agriculture research will be reversed as funding programs and research institutions recognize its importance and improve resources, infrastructure, and incentives accordingly. Endeavors, such as long-term research projects and the banking of diverse microbial specimens, require support so that a foundation of future innovation and discovery is established and sustained. A decline in the number of young scientists entering the fields of food and agriculture research will have to be reversed with funding and fellowship opportunities to provide a highly trained core that will carry out the research of the future. Regulatory hurdles impose stringent processes for research on certain organisms, but are viewed as out of step with actual hazards and must be revised consistent with scientific assessment of risk. Changes that are needed will have to be advocated by scientists, research institutions, professional societies, non-governmental institutions, and companies that are committed to food and agriculture.

This report offers recommendations for research priorities and identifies barriers to a strong food and agriculture research agenda.

Front Matter

The American Academy of Microbiology is the honorific leadership group of the American Society for Microbiology. The mission of the American Academy of Microbiology is to recognize scientific excellence and foster knowledge and understanding in the microbiological sciences. The Academy strives to include underrepresented scientists in all its activities.

The opinions expressed in this report are those solely of the colloquium participants and may not necessarily reflect the official positions of the American Society for Microbiology.

BOARD OF GOVERNORS, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF MICROBIOLOGY

R. John Collier, Ph.D. (Chair) Harvard Medical School

Kenneth I. Berns, M.D., Ph.D. University of Florida Genetics Institute

Arnold L. Demain, Ph.D. Drew University

E. Peter Greenberg, Ph.D. University of Washington

Carol A. Gross, Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco

J. Michael Miller, Ph.D. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Stephen A. Morse, Ph.D. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Harriet L. Robinson, Ph.D. Emory University

George F. Sprague, Jr., Ph.D. University of Oregon

David A. Stahl, Ph.D. University of Washington

Judy A. Wall, University of Missouri

COLLOQUIUM STEERING COMMITTEE

Michael Doyle, Ph.D., (Co-Chair) University of Georgia

Lee-Ann Jaykus, Ph.D. (Co-Chair) North Carolina State University

Charles Rice, Ph.D. Kansas State University

Sue Tolin, Ph.D. Virginia Tech University

Anne Vidaver, Ph.D. University of Nebraska

Carol A. Colgan, Director, American Academy of Microbiology

COLLOQUIUM PARTICIPANTS

Thomas E. Besser, D.V.M., Ph.D. Washington State University

Michael Doyle, Ph.D. University of Georgia

Paul Hall, Ph.D. Kraft Food of North America

Craig Hedberg, Ph.D. University of Minnesota

Lee-Ann Jaykus, Ph.D. North Carolina State University

Vivek Kapur, Ph.D. University of Minnesota

Todd Klaenhammer, Ph.D. North Carolina State University

Jan Leach, Ph.D. Colorado State University

Harley W. Moon, Ph.D. Iowa State University

Cindy Nakatsu, Ph.D. Purdue University

Donald Nuss, Ph.D. University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute

John L. Sherwood, Ph.D. University of Georgia

William Sischo, Ph.D. University of California, Davis

Trevor V. Suslow, Ph.D. University of California, Davis

Paul White, Ph.D. Kansas State University

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Microbes permeate the entire food and agricultural process. While the most visible role of agriculture is probably that of producing and delivering food, microbiology is critical to other agricultural sectors as well, e.g., for production of energy and for bioremediation of agricultural wastes. Some microorganisms are a constant source of trouble for agricultural endeavors, while others are an integral part of successful food production. Microbial influences on food and agriculture have produced both advancements and disasters that have punctuated human history. Some examples of microbe-driven outcomes set the stage for describing how important it is to seize research opportunities in food and agriculture microbiology.

MICROBES ON THE FARM & IN OUR FOOD

In the fall of 1844 a horde of hungry microbes, whose name Phytopthora infestans was earned from the damage they were about to cause, lurked in the soil of Western Europe. This pathogen causes a disease known as Potato Late Blight, and over the next several years they spread to the fields of Ireland where subsistence farmers were completely reliant on growing potatoes. Devastation of the Irish potato crop led to a terrible famine where almost one million people died and more than twice that many fled their country in abject poverty. A new variant of this blight emerged in the United States in the 1980s, causing serious losses and even bankruptcy for modern potato growers.

The relationship of microbes to the human food supply also includes many examples of organisms that preserve rather than destroy. Early Mediterranean societies discovered that fermentation could be used to help create yogurt and cheese from dairy products. These products were flavorful, safe, and could be stored for extended periods of time. Different types of bacteria and fungi are now known to be involved in fermentation processes. For example, fermentation of sugars in extracts from grain or grape juice produces alcohol that serves as a preservative and provides its own added value. The ancient Egyptians are frequently credited with inventing beer.

Every category of microorganism has members that impact food and agriculture. These include bacteria, single-cell organisms without special compartments for storing their genes; fungi, which can be single- or multicellular, and like plants and animals store their more complex genomes in a compartment called a nucleus; and viruses, which are little more than an infectious set of genes that must operate inside a host cell to reproduce. Among all of these different organisms there are those that benefit agriculture and food, enhancing productivity or nutrition through their interactions with plants and animals. Some microorganisms provide benefit by virtue of their ability to harm other organisms that would cause damage or spoilage if not disrupted. Agriculture and food are prey to many microorganisms that, in the course of their life cycles, destroy crops, animals, and foodstuffs. Some of these microbial pathogens create toxins or are infectious enough to cause disease in humans exposed to the products they have tainted.

MICROBIOLOGY RESEARCH IN FOOD & AGRICULTURE

The wide-ranging impact that microbes have on agriculture and food has always been, and is expected to remain, a challenge. To eat and survive, humans have answered this challenge with ingenuity. Answers sometimes begin as empirical approaches to problems, like the early development of fermentation. Such solutions are subject to improvement and refinement through scientific study and discovery. The better the understanding of the living organisms involved in the agriculture and food chain, the better equipped people are to steer the course of these interactions in our favor.

Basic research is a critical driver for innovation in agriculture and food. For example, despite centuries of using fermentation to ward off spoilage, people still found their wine and beer spoiling over time. In the mid 1800s Louis Pasteur was embroiled in a scientific conflict, disputing the favored belief at the time that microorganisms could appear through “spontaneous generation” in nutrient broth. To disprove this contemporary view, Pasteur devised a method for heat sterilizing broth and keeping it sealed off from contamination. Lengthy demonstrations that the treatment prevented any growth of microorganisms, however, did not win his theory immediate acceptance in the intellectual community. The French navy, then struggling to deal with spoilage on its ships and eruptions of mutiny due to shortages of wine, was ready to perform a large scale test of the principle. “Pasteurization” proved effective, and a basic research problem led to a fundamental technological advancement.

REAPING BENEFITS FROM RESEARCH

Technological advancements do not always find immediate or the most opportune applications. In the case of pasteurization, the technology was shown to effectively rid milk of dangerous pathogens before the end of the 19th century. Despite promotion of the benefits of pasteurization, it was adopted very slowly due to reluctant producers and suspicious consumers. Milk remained responsible for one quarter of all food borne illness throughout the first third of the 20th century in the United States. Wide scale use of pasteurization now provides the invisible benefit of a much safer food supply. In another example, the new technology of genetic modification or engineering has led indirectly to decreases in mycotoxins produced by fungi in some growing crops. These toxins are highly detrimental to animals and humans, including being implicated in several cancers.

“MILK REMAINED RESPONSIBLE FOR ONE QUARTER OF ALL FOOD BORNE ILLNESS THROUGHOUT THE FIRST THIRD OF THE 20TH CENTURY IN THE UNITED STATES.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum, some technologies experience rapid and extensive adoption before their impact is sufficiently understood. Extensive use of antibiotics in livestock and poultry production came into practice to protect large populations of closely quartered animals from infection, and for its poorly understood growth-promoting effect. The practice is associated with the appearance of some strains of antibiotic resistant microbial pathogens. Furthermore, this practice may provide a pool of resistance genes that can be transferred among organisms in both the gut of animals and the production environment.

The contribution of research towards providing a plentiful, healthy, and safe food supply reaches beyond the cycle of basic research and applied science. Research is also required after development of a technology to direct its prudent or appropriate use. For example, research predicted the selection of antibiotic resistant microbes in agriculture, but did not predict the potential consequences of changing the formulation and processing methods for feed used in British cattle production. Most scientists believe that the origin of bovine spongi-form encephalopathy, the so-called “Mad Cow” disease, was the supplementation of cattle feed with animal protein derived from other ruminants. This resulted in a disease caused by a replicating protein that was propagated through British cattle herds and was subsequently epidemiologically linked to a deadly neurological condition in humans. Assurances of the safety of the meat supply were provided without scientific backing as an animal epidemic gained momentum. As of 2003, there have been over 180,000 confirmed diagnoses of BSE in British cattle and the most recent 2005 statistics cite over 100 confirmed deaths from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the human form of the disease believed to be linked to BSE.

In an endeavor such as food production and distribution, tension is always present between technological advances and avoidance of unintended consequences. This tension can be heightened when disasters, such as the Mad Cow episode in Britain, are amplified by policies made without sufficient scientific understanding. Even with scientific understanding of benefits and risks, a technology may be scuttled by lingering mistrust or poor public understanding of complex issues. This is part of what caused the slow adoption of pasteurization, and still has the adoption of food irradiation mostly ham-strung in the United States. Irradiation, proven for decades to destroy pathogens in spices and food and protect against spoilage, lacks a confidence-inspiring name and popular understanding. Similarly, the use of modern molecular biology to add genes into crops, animals, or microbes, creating so-called Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), has met with a cool reception in many parts of the globe. Despite their benefits in terms of production, reduced pesticide use, and now a record of safe use after one decade, there remains rancorous dispute about the potential risks of GMOs. Government-sponsored research and oversight, with reasonable transparency in some countries, has enabled commercialization of several crops. Use of rigorous science to study risks and weigh them against the benefits of any new technology has not yet been convincing enough to diffuse the tension that interrupts progress.

Nineteen scientists with expertise in areas ranging from plant pathology to food microbiology to microbial ecology were brought together for a two-and-a-half-day colloquium to examine the future of food and agriculture microbiology. Their deliberations and conclusions are captured in this report.

MICROBIOLOGICAL CHALLENGES TO FOOD & AGRICULTURE

An abundant and healthy food supply is expected from our agricultural systems. Fulfilling this demand is a complicated process involving plant cultivation, animal husbandry, soil and water management, harvesting, processing, storage, and transport. At each step the microbial world presents obstacles to success.

MICROBIAL DISEASE

Disease-causing microbes continually assault the animals and crops that humans raise for food. These unwelcome guests make their living off of our agriculture as well. Each animal or plant that we raise is host to an assortment of bacterial, viral, and fungal pathogens. One of the more famous examples of viral diseases in animals, Foot and Mouth Disease, infects cloven hoofed animals such as cattle and sheep. It is extremely contagious and persists in susceptible animals in the wild and in husbandry. The severe blisters and cankers caused by the virus are usually not deadly, but the lifespan and productivity of infected animals is severely reduced. The disease is dreaded globally as a problem for trade because it can be spread easily, not only by sick animals, but by meat products and even on clothing.

The most virulent diseases are crippling or deadly to agriculture, draining or even annihilating a crop harvest or animal population. Some of these diseases have consequences for humans reaching beyond their impact on the availability or expense of our food. Pathogens known as “zoonotic” are those that can be transmitted from animals to humans and include transmission via vectors (i.e., insects, rodents), food, or water that have become contaminated from these animal sources. The most notorious contemporary example is Anthrax. This soil dwelling bacterium can kill cattle and other herd animals that encounter it while grazing. It is also known to cause skin lesions, gastrointestinal infection, and serious systemic disease in people exposed to infected animals. This bacterium has some choice properties as a potential biological weapon, including deadly toxins it produces while growing in the warm tissues of an animal host. In the fall of 2001, illnesses and deaths resulted from letters containing special preparations of Anthrax spores, which infected individuals who had contact with the contaminated mail.

Plant diseases also impact humans. Most significantly, fungi leave behind toxins poisonous to people and animals that eat them, as well as to the host plant. As unlikely as it seems, there is some evidence that plant pathogens can also be infectious to people. The greatest number of documented cases so far are pathologies found in the immune compromised, but an increasing number are associated with apparently healthy humans. However, this is a neglected field of study, and it is not known how widespread or important such infections might be and with what types of syndromes these agents might be associated.

Fungal, bacterial, and viral pathogens are problems in any system where dense populations of the same kind of plants or animals are being cultivated for food. This principle extends beyond fields and pastures, to areas like ponds or net-cages, where aquaculture is performed, and caves, where mushrooms are grown. Diseases that assail agriculture can also be more complicated than an infection by a single pathogen; polymicrobial diseases result from the compound effects of multiple pathogens acting together. Diseases of this kind can be more difficult to predict, diagnose, and respond to than those caused by one organism alone.

“FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE OF LIVESTOCK COMES IN ABOUT 80 DIFFERENT “SEROTYPES” AROUND THE WORLD; EACH ONE IS SEROLOGICALLY DIFFERENT. ”

MICROBIAL PATHOGENS MOVING & MORPHING

Pathogens have a variety of ways to invade agricultural plants, animals, and products, such as sliced meats and cheeses. Vector transmission, seed and aerial dispersion, environmental persistence, and living on alternate, often perennial hosts are some of the ways that pathogens can break into an agricultural setting. Vector transmission occurs when another organism, such as an insect, carries the pathogen from an infected host and inoculates a healthy host. For example, the glassy-winged sharpshooter can suck sap from a grape vine infected with Pierces' Disease, and be able to transmit the disease-causing bacteria to other healthy vines for several days. Infected plants rapidly show complete loss of productivity. Vector transmission, seed and aerial dispersion, environmental persistence, and living on alternate, often perennial hosts are some of the ways that pathogens can break into an agricultural setting. The spores of the Anthrax bacterium mentioned above can remain viable in the soil for decades until one finds its way into the nutrient rich, warm setting of a skin scratch or the lung of a mammal. Some pathogens are not able to survive long without a host, but are able to linger on what are called “alternate hosts.” This allows the pathogen to last over a winter or for several years, with the alternate host providing a reservoir of infectious material upon reappearance of the susceptible agricultural host and the right conditions for infection.

Agricultural pathogens not only have diverse ways of infecting plants and animals, but also have ways to overcome host defenses directed against them. The sheer enormity of microbial populations provides them with an evolutionary advantage. In vast microbial populations which replicate very quickly, variations in genetic makeup become statistically more probable when compared to slower growing plant and animal populations. Genetic variation allows for the emergence of pathogens that are no longer recognizable to the immune system of a host, or that have improved mechanisms for inflicting disease. Foot and Mouth disease of livestock comes in about 80 different “serotypes” around the world; each one is serologically different. An animal resistant to one serotype through vaccination or exposure will still have an immune system that is unprepared for most of the other serotypes.

Evolution frequently produces pathogens resistant to pesticides and antibiotics through genetic routes more complex than simple mutation. For example, the problem of antibiotic resistant bacteria is driven by the swapping of genetic material between organisms. Genes can be transferred on mobile pieces of DNA, or shuttled from one cell to another by plasmids or bacteria-infecting viruses called bacteriophages. Not recognized by opponents of GMOs, microbial pests of agriculture and public health readily take advantage of “natural” gene transfer or genetic engineering for survival and spread.

Viruses are capable of even greater wholesale shuffling of genetic material. Virus genomes reproduce inside of a host cell. Co-infection of a cell with different viruses allows the opportunity for a broad array of hybrid genomes to result. These new “hybrid” variants are usually inactive, but occasional variants gain properties, such as increased virulence, enhanced infectivity, or altered host range or vector specificity. A frightening agricultural example of this phenomenon is Avian Influenza. In 1918, a pandemic flu emerged that decimated cities and countries around the world. Today, with high density poultry production and many people in close contact with flocks, zoonotic episodes of Avian Influenza are being reported. Experts are concerned that it is only a matter of time before another highly virulent pandemic strain of human influenza evolves, perhaps this time of avian origin.

MICROBES ROTTING & POISONING THE FOOD SUPPLY

Microbial interference with an abundant and healthy food supply continues once plant and animal products leave the farm. Since pathogens can be part of the normal gastrointestinal flora of many animals, they are difficult, if not impossible, to completely eradicate and may contaminate our food supply. Bacteria such as Salmonella, Campylobacter , and certain strains of Escherichia coli , as well as enteropathogenic viruses, can persist, and some bacteria will multiply. If not killed before the food is eaten, these microbes can cause serious illness. There are an estimated 76 million incidents of foodborne illness in the United States each year. This is despite all of the advancements in food handling and processing hygiene, such as pasteurization, already in practice. Pathogens can also reach the food supply through contaminated water, transmission between infected animals, using animal manure as fertilizer, and even from contaminated or infected food handlers. Some contaminated seafood acquires viruses, for example, from contaminated harvest waters.

Illness due to microbes is also caused by toxins left behind in food as a consequence of microbial growth. Fungi, such as those in the genus Fusarium and Aspergillus , grow well on grains and other crops. As they grow, they produce toxic substances called mycotoxins. These toxins remain in edible tissues, or can accumulate after harvest if the fungus continues growing, and are poisonous to humans and animals that eat them. The toxins cause a variety of damaging effects on the nervous, digestive, immune and vascular systems. Some are also highly carcinogenic, including one of the most potent cancer causing chemicals known, aflatoxin. The most potent neurotoxin known causes Botulism, and is a product of a bacterium that grows in food in the absence of oxygen.

Even without directly causing human disease, microbes can have a chilling effect on the efficiency and cost of food production. Most people are familiar with vegetables left too long in the refrigerator drawer which are transformed into black puddles of mush. This spoilage is caused by bacteria and/or fungi that eat, or rot, the food. The process of spoilage erodes the quality and availability of our food supply at every step in the food production, processing, transportation, and marketing chain. Its costs are borne by producers, shippers, processors and consumers.

PRACTICES THAT INCREASE THE MICROBIAL THREAT TO FOOD & AGRICULTURE

A newly realized threat to agricultural production and food safety is the purposeful use of disease and damage-causing organisms. Whether thought of as “bioterrorism” or simply malicious sabotage, this is a real threat derived from the microbial world. The systems we have in place to detect and deal with the broad array of diseases and toxins discussed above now must take into account human-made versions of the threats as well.

Many elements of the modern world interact with the microbial world to create new problems. Regional and international shipment of agricultural products means that pathogens do not necessarily require natural dispersion. Although some pathogens, such as soybean rust, can be transported by wind, others that might not spread so easily by natural forces can arrive by plane or boat. Stiff trade restrictions are established to prevent the entry and spread of certain diseases, but these restrictions are only as good as the inspection and detection measures used. Foot and Mouth Disease is a notable example. Countries that are free of FMD prohibit import of any meat products from countries not considered free of the disease. However, because of limitations to current detection methods, countries that vaccinate against the disease are automatically treated as though they have infectious animals. Countries that are able to operate without using vaccine have privileged access to certain markets, but at the cost of having completely vulnerable herds if the disease were introduced. Many microbiological issues are thus serious international agricultural trade issues and often are a reason for blocking trade of certain commodities.

Modern, intensive agricultural practices provide advancements in efficiency and product uniformity, but also bear some elements contributing to their own demise. Overuse of antibiotics and pesticides can select for resistance in the microorganisms that they target. Many of these chemicals are also pollutants, contaminating the environment and perhaps reaching people or organisms that were never their intended targets. Heavy use of fertilizers feeds nutrients into waterways, fueling microbial growth that can kill fish and other wildlife. And animal manure, used as a fertilizer, can contaminate water sources used for animal and plant production, providing a source of foodborne pathogens if not applied using best management practices.

In the drive for uniformity, intensive agriculture, such as planting row upon row of genetically identical crops, or raising large herds or flocks with little genetic diversity in close quarters, may result in expansive populations of vulnerable hosts upon the emergence of pathogens that are newly resistant to pesticides, vaccines, or other critical barriers.

FOOT & MOUTH DISEASE & TRADE BARRIERS.

MEETING CHALLENGES WITH MICROBIOLOGICAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

The microbial world is not just a source of endless problems for food and agriculture. Some of the solutions to disease and spoilage lie in the application of microbiology. Solutions to non microbe-derived problems may also be provided through microbiology. An ever growing human population is demanding more food, and is also using more energy and creating more waste. Food and agriculture microbiology can present opportunities to address some of these problems. Furthermore, some of the solutions to agricultural problems, such as soil salinization and drought, may lie with microbes.

UNDERSTANDING MICROBIAL PATHOGENS & COMBATING THEM

Better understanding of the microorganisms that cause disease and spoilage in agriculture and food will lead to better ways of controlling them. Pesticides are needed that are more environmentally friendly and that have added barriers to the production of resistance. Improved vaccines and immunomodulators are needed to make immunization of herds and flocks against pathogens more effective. Advances in these areas are dependent on knowing more about the “enemy,” i.e., microbes that cause the diseases.

It also pays to know about the enemies of one's enemies. Pathogens that attack crops and animals frequently have competitors and pathogens of their own. Harnessing the capabilities of these antagonists is an approach called biological control. Through biological control, relatively harmless microorganisms (or their metabolic products) that inhibit or kill a harmful organism are mass produced and applied to food or crops as a protective measure. Large scale production of biological control organisms is a difficult process, and their performance in a field setting is often unpredictable as a match with each local ecosytem's conditions is needed. Nevertheless, genetic engineering of biological control organisms is a possible way to overcome these shortcomings. As biological control using GMOs is more difficult to clear through regulatory and political hurdles due to the current climate, little work is in progress.

A strategy of containment and destruction is required in instances whereby plant and animal diseases cannot be controlled by selective breeding, pesticides, vaccines, drugs, or biological control. The approach of quarantining and then depopulating possibly infected plants and animals becomes more expensive and devastating with increased disease spread. This is illustrated by the expense of destroying millions of chickens during the 2003-04 outbreaks of Avian Influenza, and by the 2001 FMD outbreak in Great Britain. The appearance of citrus canker in Florida has required extensive cutting of citrus trees, even in urban areas, at the cost of millions of dollars. Reducing these losses relies upon the ability to detect and react quickly to the appearance of a pathogen.

SURVEILLANCE FOR MICROBIAL PATHOGENS

Improved surveillance of, and response to, disease outbreaks relies on a variety of technologies. Accurate models of pathogen spread are required to prevent costly overestimates of pathogen dispersion, or underestimates that render control measures incomplete or ineffective. Better coordination and networking between the different entities handling surveillance operations and the standardization of detection technologies will facilitate more rapid, thorough response to outbreaks.

Ideally, surveillance networks should also be capable of tracing the cause of an outbreak to its point of origin. Knowledge of how incidents were initiated is critical to instituting changes that will prevent future incidents. Under ideal circumstances, surveillance networks should be capable of distinguishing among incidents caused by natural, accidental, and purposeful release of pathogenic organisms. This would require a much greater knowledge of microbial communities than we presently have, as well as forensic capabilities. Robust systems for disease surveillance advance the capability of responding to microbiological threats, thereby reducing damage. This is the case in preemptive actions against some agricultural diseases. For example, planting of certain genotypes of wheat in North America is guided each year by a forecasting system that observes what wheat rust virulence types are appearing to the South, and then recommending what available resistance genotypes will fare best in the upcoming planting season. Surveillance is also applied to respond as early as possible to outbreaks such as Avian Influenza. Another form of surveillance is routinely applied when we monitor for contaminants in the food supply. For example, grains are screened for mycotoxin contamination, and raw meats are sometimes tested for the presence of enteropathogenic bacteria.

“… SURVEILLANCE NETWORKS SHOULD BE CAPABLE OF DISTINGUISHING AMONG INCIDENTS CAUSED BY NATURE, ACCIDENTAL, AND PURPOSEFUL RELEASE OF PATHOGENIC ORGANISMS.”

Successful surveillance depends on accurate, fast, and practical detection technologies. Most immediately, there is a need for diagnostics that can test for multiple organisms in a single test, a concept termed multiplexing. In addition, diagnostic tests must be robust enough to be applied to complex sample materials, such as soil, food, and fecal material. The complexity of these materials can cause so-called matrix effects, severely hindering the sensitivity and specificity of a diagnostic test that would otherwise perform perfectly when applied to a pristine sample matrix, such as a pure culture of the target organism.

Other needed improvements to diagnostics are ones that enable them to be more widely accessible for use and more widely relied upon. Improving the accuracy and versatility, as described above, will help accomplish this. Standardization of tests nationally and internationally will be a challenge. The technologies need to be more portable and more rapid, enabling field sampling and real time analysis. Diagnostics should be made less expensive so they can be used more frequently and by programs with restricted budgets. Finally, diagnostic technologies must contribute useable information to inform risk management. Wrong information in a practical sense can consist of more than a simple false-positive result; information can also be useless if the test correctly detects the presence of the target organism, but it is dead, or not present at levels of concern. To help resolve these issues, it is necessary for diagnostic tests to be made more quantitative. Along similar lines, test specificity needs to be refined so that we are detecting the presence of pathogenic variants of microorganisms. There are many cases where diagnostic specificity to the species level is insufficient to accurately reflect risk because different strains within a species can differ significantly in their pathogenic characteristics.

The versatility and ruggedness that is needed from diagnostic technologies is also dependent on improving methodologies for handling specimens before testing. Improved methods for the pre-analytical processing of specimens are required. Means of cultivating organisms that have previously been non-culturable will improve diagnostic capabilities, although knowledge of microbial genomics will enable identification of many non-culturable micro-organisms as well as viruses.

PRESERVING FOOD & ENHANCING ITS VALUE

A major point of inefficiency in food production will be improved with reductions in post-harvest spoilage. Finding ways to slow or even prevent microbial spoilage will provide one set of solutions to this problem. Inactivation of spoilage-causing microbes is only one way to preserve food. Better understanding the spoilage process itself will open opportunities to alternatives to spoilage control, such as the biocontrol option. A time honored example of this principle is in the production of yogurt. The bacteria that grow in milk to generate yogurt convert the nutrients into byproducts that make the food environment much less amenable to the growth of spoilage organisms, thereby extending the shelf life of the food.

Beneficial microbes cultivated in food can provide added value far beyond delay or prevention of spoilage. Many of these microbes have “probiotic” properties that can help exclude disease-causing organisms and prevent infections. Probiotic properties of beneficial microbes are thought to be derived in part from competitive exclusion of pathogenic microbial species. However, the phenomenon is complex and may include other elements, such as the release of compounds antagonistic to pathogens or stimulation of the host immune system. Deepening understanding of the nature of such probiotic effects and elucidated ways that these can be strengthened will allow scientists to capitalize further on the beneficial effects of these microbes.

The presence of beneficial microbes in agriculture and food holds the possibility of generating added value to products. Some microbes have properties that convey nutritional enhancement to food. For example, yeast is a source of B-complex vitamins. There is also speculation that interactions between plants and certain microbes can stimulate enhanced production of compounds with pharmaceutical properties. This possibility may provide opportunities to generate health-promoting foods with so-called nutraceutical properties.

A HELPING HAND IN AGRICULTURE FROM MICROBES

Other interactions with beneficial microbes can be of direct benefit to agricultural plants and animals. A classic example of mutualism in action is the partnership between legumes and bacteria called Rhizobia. The bacteria take up residence in plant roots, receiving nutrients. In exchange, they fix nitrogen from the air into a form that the plants can use, replacing a need for nitrogen-containing fertilizer. There are other cases of microbes helping a host organism scavenge essential nutrients, or fend off pathogens. In the intestinal tract of ruminants, a complex mixture of bacteria enables the animal to extract sufficient nutrients from a diet of grasses.

Even the best-recognized and most-studied forms of mutualism are not understood well enough to be effectively controlled or expanded to cover hosts previously unknown to benefit from a particular interaction. Scientists have been unsuccessful in getting Rhizobia to form a mutualistic relationship with wheat roots, for instance. For the few classic examples of mutualism in agricultural systems, there are likely to be many more interactions taking place in obscurity. Study of interactions between organisms that boost agricultural success is a field rich with opportunities. More knowledge of microbial ecology and mutualistic interactions will pave the way for advances that enhance agricultural organisms' nutrient use, pathogen resistance, and hardiness.

Microbial ecology will likely be found to have impacts on agricultural systems beyond those currently recognized. Complex interactions between plants and the consortia of microbes found in soil probably extend beyond resisting pathogens and scavenging nutrients. Properly tuned interactions could help improve drought resistance and salt tolerance of plants and have other growth-promoting activities. Understanding and managing microbial ecology will have major benefits for stressed agricultural systems.

The massive scale of human agricultural and food production enterprises brings with it an array of problems that microbiology can help address. Any technological advances that increase resistance to pathogens or nutrient scavenging will also contribute to reduced use of pesticides and fertilizers. This represents a corresponding reduction in pollutants. Other pollutants are a direct consequence of agricultural production itself, rather than production practices. Waste produced by animals, particularly when produced in high densities, frequently represents a serious environmental and health hazard. Animal manure is typically accumulated in bulk and some of the material is used as fertilizer on agricultural fields. Technology to harness microbes for digestion of animal waste could alleviate some of the environmental and health hazards generated by large-scale animal rearing operations. Microbes may also be harnessed for the remediation of agricultural chemicals or for mitigating greenhouse gases.

Microbial digestion, another form of fermentation, can be harnessed to produce alternative fuels. Fermentation of animal wastes can create flammable gases, such as methane. Devising bioreactors that efficiently convert animal waste on a large scale would help eliminate an environmental and health hazard, while also satisfying growing energy needs. Fermentative processes also produce fuels, such as ethanol from plant material. The inefficiency of this type of fermentation for fuel production has kept it from being widely adopted. Improvements in fuel generating technology would allow the gradual replacement of highly polluting fossil fuels with more environmentally friendly fuel sources. However, continued removal of plant waste from fields may have unintended effects, such as altering the composition and characteristics of the soil, affecting microbial populations and subsequent plant growth. Thus, this practice needs to be examined and followed over multiple years to monitor its effects.

ETHANOL FUEL FROM CELLULOSE.

MICROBIOLOGY RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES TO ADVANCE FOOD & AGRICULTURE

The previous lineup of microbiology-related problems confronting agriculture and food, followed by approaches to solving these problems, provides an empirical appreciation of the value of agriculture and food research. There have been attempts to measure this value. Estimates of the return on investment in agricultural research, based on a purely economic level, range from approximately 30-60%. This means that for every dollar invested in agricultural research, there is an annual net flow of return to society of 30 to 60 cents. However, many of the benefits of research in agriculture and food microbiology carry over into other important areas, such as public health and economic development. These returns have not yet been estimated.

PROGRESS THROUGH MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH

Food and agriculture microbiology research intersects with many other fields. This overlap is evident in the research opportunities associated with multidisciplinary research. For example, the need for improved detection technologies will be addressed by research that combines such diverse fields as microbiology, molecular biology, statistics, and engineering. Multidisciplinary research approaches will also lead the way in developing better tools to model the behavior of microbiological hazards, and successful application of massive amounts of biological information to the management of the living systems that comprise agriculture.

Assays and detectors used in surveillance for agricultural diseases and human pathogens in food have the potential to be improved as a result of several types of multidisciplinary research. One approach that is rapidly improving detection technology is the combination of microfluidic engineering and molecular biology. Devices arising from the marriage of these fields will be inexpensive to operate, portable, and rapid. The combination of genetically engineered microorganisms and optical devices is facilitating the creation of biosensors in which a living microbe is actually the interface that detects targeted microbes or toxins.

The ability to predict pathogen spread and persistence is being boosted by multidisciplinary research. Combining Global Information Systems (GIS) tools, mathematical modeling, and microbial physiology, it is now possible to simulate microbial behavior in the environment. This will enable integration of climate information and biology to predict or track microbial dispersion or viability upon release into the environment. Improving predictive capability is the key to predicting, recognizing, and containing outbreaks and enabling intervention efforts to be properly and efficiently applied in a timely manner.

Application of massive computing power to the handling and analysis of biological information has expanded our understanding of many biological systems and processes in ways not imagined previously. Computational analysis of genetic, protein, and metabolic data has spawned new approaches to studying complex, networked events that take place within living organisms to give rise to particular phenotypes. Genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics rely on microscopic handling of molecular samples (e.g., microarrays) to generate enormous data sets that measure the state of genes, proteins, or metabolic products in an organism. As computing advances allow processing of ever increasing amounts of data and nanotechnology improves the ability to precisely handle and detect molecular samples, genomic, proteomic, and metabolomic studies will become increasingly effective. These kinds of analyses will enable discoveries that can advance agricultural efficiency and food quality and safety. The power of these analyses is currently expanding to enable study of the interactions between diverse microbial species and the interactions between microbes and their environments.

MULTI-ORGANISM BIOLOGY – INTERACTIONS BETWEEN HOSTS, PATHOGENS & MUTUALISTS

An exciting and relevant area in food and agriculture microbiology is the study of disease and infection. Agricultural productivity and food safety can be improved by disruption of pathogen inflicted disease in plants and animals. Traditional studies of pathogen virulence and host range continue to contribute to our understanding of disease processes. Breeding of disease resistance into plants and animals, for example, remains an important effort to continue. Creation of improved vaccines is another area where sustaining the pursuit of previously successful approaches can continue to reap benefits. Many vaccines could be improved by increasing their breadth of immunogenic activity, facilitating the ability to differentiate vaccinated animals from disease carriers, and increasing the duration of immunity that is conferred.

Beyond traditional methods of combating pathogens, research into the disease process itself and the role of innate host resistance will open new insights into the complex set of interactions between hosts and pathogens associated with food and agricultural systems. Budding areas of research, such as the use of immunomodulators to fortify host innate immunity against pathogens, will contribute to this end. Research is revealing that, in many cases, a critical part of the disease process occurs when pathogens disrupt immune responses in the host. As multi-organism genomic, proteomic, and metabolomic studies reveal precisely how pathogens attack a host, subsequent studies can investigate immunomodulation as a way to interfere with the infection process of specific pathogens.

Organisms that are participating in complex biological interactions represent a hugely underexploited pool of interventions to prevent disease through efforts such as immunological fortification, production of antibiotics/probiotics, and other mechanisms. Current investigation and knowledge of probiotics scratches the surface of this area of research, and even in this area, specific knowledge is lacking about what interactions occur between microbes and the host and how those interactions can be capitalized upon to prevent disease. For example, beneficial organisms may contribute to the prevention of disease by producing substances that interfere with successful colonization or infection by a pathogen in a host, and/or the beneficial organisms may exclude pathogens by competing for resources while not damaging the host. Past methodological restraints have limited our ability to understand complex host-microbe interactions. However, functional genomics, proteomics, and metabolomic approaches can all be harnessed to answer basic science questions about these interactions. In so doing, probiotic approaches can be refined, providing public health benefits and enhancing the sustainability of agriculture. This is one area where agriculture may come face-to-face with human and animal clinical medicine.

Another related phenomenon where microorganisms protect against pathogens is biological control. Many microorganisms can actively antagonize or kill the organisms that damage or cause disease in our agricultural crops and animals. A famous example is the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that produces insect-killing toxins. Microbiology research has extracted a wide range of toxin specificities from different strains of Bt and enabled these toxins to be expressed directly in genetically modified crops, providing the plants with their own protective compounds. Continued research will undoubtedly produce more discoveries from this bio-control organism. Many other biological control options, such as fungi and viruses that are pathogenic to a wide variety of specific agricultural pests, are largely unexplored and may be exploited for protection of crops and animals. Genetic engineering of biocontrol organisms has promise for ensuring their effectiveness in targeted, large scale use against pests.

“RESEARCH IN MICROBIAL ECOLOGY WILL HELP TO DETERMINE HOW TO PRESERVE A BALANCE IN MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES THAT FAVORS AGRICULTURE.”

MICROBIAL ECOLOGY & HEALTHY AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS

The role of beneficial organisms in promoting the health of agricultural plants and animals extends beyond combating pathogens. Research into how beneficial microorganisms can promote growth, improve stress tolerance, and aid in the uptake of nutrients are research areas ripe for discovery and innovation. Research into these complex and often delicate interactions between different organisms should ultimately pay off by revealing ways to assure that agriculture can become heartier and less environmentally taxing.

The same communities of microbes that benefit agricultural health and efficiency are likely to be disturbed by some of the practices of industrialized agriculture. One way to fortify agriculture against disease and stress is to supplement systems with probiotic and biocontrol organisms, but a complementary and sometimes alternative approach is to protect beneficial organisms that may already be present in the environment. Research in microbial ecology will help to determine how to preserve a balance in microbial communities that favors agriculture. Heavy pesticide and fertilizer use, in particular, are two practices that should be studied using a holistic or integrated approach to determine their impact on microbial ecology within the context of tradeoffs between risks and benefits. More knowledge in this area will help determine optimal tradeoffs such that the benefits of use outweigh the disruption caused by chemical inputs into our agricultural systems.

Microbial communities are both vulnerable to, and contribute to, removal of pollutants. Research into how multiple organisms work in partnership to degrade complex molecules is essential to increase options for dealing with the byproducts of industrialized agriculture. Understanding this aspect of microbial ecology may also lead to improvements in waste disposal and energy generation through fermentation, as well as bioremediation.

Organisms that cannot currently be cultivated in a laboratory setting are likely to be pivotal in advances in probiotics, biocontrol, and microbial ecology. Research efforts targeted on identification of these previously uncharacterized organisms, whether through new cultivation methods or by indirect detection approaches made possible by genomic knowledge, will strengthen our ability to use beneficial organisms effectively.

MAKING THE BEST USE OF AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY

Research offers opportunities for understanding more completely the impacts of technologies that are already used in agriculture and food production. Questions remain concerning if genetically modified organisms interact differently in the environment as compared to their non-engineered counterparts. Whether or not there are negative impacts associated with the use of GMOs needs to be considered and balanced within the broader context of sustained use and potential benefits.

Increased attention to food hygiene, which has occurred in the developed world over the last century, has dramatically reduced incidence of foodborne infection. However the void of microbially-based immune stimulation has been proposed as a culprit in weakening immune systems in animals and people. Further research into this area will determine whether this is a real phenomenon and, if so, how to balance tradeoffs between a microbiologically safer food supply and maintaining a healthy immune system throughout life.

Food and agriculture microbiology research provides potential solutions to problems that cut across many fields. The scientific principles and the implications of food and agricultural research are increasingly linked to public health and the environment, topics that historically have received more public attention. For example, interventions against Avian Influenza, which has been devastating poultry production, may also prevent dissemination of another human influenza epidemic. Providing biologically-based alternatives for protection of crops and animals against pathogens will help reduce pesticide and antibiotic use, both of which have public health and environmental implications.

OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO SUCCESSFUL AGRICULTURAL & FOOD MICROBIOLOGY RESEARCH

Despite the need for continued advances in agriculture and food microbiology, and the proven track record of agricultural research, research support for these fields over the last few decades has been lean and is, in fact, decreasing. Reversing the decline in funding and recognition of the value of agricultural research requires fundamental changes, in addition to an infusion of financial support. The major barriers to advancing agriculture and food research are institutional and perception based.

PUTTING FOOD & AGRICULTURE MICROBIOLOGY IN THE SPOTLIGHT

The profile and priority of agricultural research needs to be raised. Designated research centers of excellence, similar to those in the biomedical and defense arenas, would make strides in this respect. There are numerous institutions that provide a backbone of exceptional scientific work for U.S. agriculture, but their programs run in aging facilities and with limited financial resources. Within U.S. research institutions, agriculture is too often a subordinate priority. One way to reverse this would be to raise the institutional overhead rate that is currently allowed on USDA grants from its uniquely low level to a level on par with that provided by other funding agencies, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) or the National Institutes of Health (NIH). With limited overhead capital, administrators and investigators are restricted in their efforts to build strong programs and recruit personnel to pursue state-of-the-art agricultural research. Increases in overall research expenditures for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs would then be needed to maintain even the current level of direct funds for research.

A healthy agricultural research community depends on an influx of young scientific talent. Trouble recruiting and maintaining graduate students is impacting programs and will ultimately affect the field. Several measures can be taken to alleviate this problem. A program of prestigious and remunerative fellowships for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows would provide some needed recruiting leverage. Internships involving industry, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and government agencies would have mutually beneficial value. Such internships would infuse awareness and technical knowledge of agricultural science to institutions and provide the visiting scientists with networking and training opportunities. The recent security-motivated tightening of immigration procedures has limited access of the U.S. scientific community to international talent. Making the U.S. more accessible to legitimate international students and scientists again would help all scientific endeavors, including invigorating the base for revival of agricultural science.

Funding for agriculture and food research is essential to fulfilling any of the potential benefits that have been proposed. Because of the shallow profit margin in agriculture and food, it is to be expected that industry/commodity funding for research in these areas will be minimal, and when it does occur, it is usually focused on short-term payoffs. Such sources of funding traditionally have provided no indirect costs, further perpetuating the declining research facility infrastructure. Therefore, basic research on high priority agriculture and food problems is deeply dependent on government sources to provide sufficient funding. Currently the National Research Initiative of the USDA explicitly favors “translational research,” i.e., those projects with the promise of providing near-term, technological products or advances. By nature, many agriculture and food research endeavors are long-term, but competitive funding for long-term projects is more or less unavailable. An expansion of research priorities to emphasize basic and long-term research and dedicated funding to back this expansion will help revive agricultural research.

“ LONG-TERM AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH PROJECTS ARE THE ONLY WAY TO OBTAIN SCIENTIFIC ANSWERS.”

RESEARCH PRIORITIES WITH REACH

Long-term agricultural research projects are the only way to obtain scientific answers to many questions in areas such as microbial ecology and epidemiology. Unfortunately, the formula-funded land grant university system once could support such long-term research, but funds have diminished to the point that this is no longer possible, even though the land facilities are still there under university ownership. One mechanism for overcoming barriers to long-term research in agriculture would be through projects like the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) stations. Sustained study of particular agriculture and food science problems is also hampered by certain institutionalized incentive structures. Tenure evaluation procedures draw heavily on publication records of individuals, but long-term projects may be incomplete and unpublished by the time of tenure or promotion review. It is also the case that research grants generally demand a structure that promises completion of a project within two or three, and at most, five years. Allowing for longer project duration, including sustained funding, and evaluation of productivity based on alternative measures, would make long-term research a more viable scientific pursuit.

Collections of microbial specimens are an essential asset to agriculture and food microbiology research. Availability of specimens for initiation and verification of research can be assured only if the resources and expertise are maintained to properly curate collections of microbes. In the same way that institutions and funding agencies determine the viability of long-term research, their commitment of resources and recognition to the maintenance of microbe collections will determine whether this asset is sustained or lost.

With multidisciplinary research at the center of many needed advances in food and agriculture research, some of the disincentives to this type of work should be lifted. Institutions frequently fail to recognize the effort required to coordinate across different research groups and disciplines to make a project run successfully. The many-author publications that result from this type of work are also not as highly regarded as ones where credit is less widely distributed or—in a view that is not necessarily justified—less diluted.

The research community is also responsible for some barriers to more successful food and agriculture science. Compartmentalization between fields of research and industrial practice prevent effective cross-fertilization and sharing of lessons learned. Divisions also stand in the way of greater multidisciplinary efforts. Research opportunities will expand as scientists become more aware and more engaged across fields dealing with microbiology, veterinary and human medicine, plant diseases (pathology), epidemiology, statistics and mathematical modeling, environmental sciences, and engineering, to name a few.

PAVING THE WAY FOR ESSENTIAL RESEARCH

Various regulations present obstacles to research because they are inappropriately stringent or lacking in discrimination. For example, listing certain pathogen species as “select agents” dramatically increases the expense and legal liability of working with these microorganisms. In many cases, agents that are on the select agent lists are already prevalent in the environment, and their study in a laboratory represents no extraordinary safety or security risk. For example, soybean rust recently reached and spread throughout the southeastern United States, creating the potential to cause havoc with growers in the current growing season. But because of the pathogen's select agent rating before its arrival into the country, there was a scarcity of research at a time when studies of the pathogen were urgently needed. Fortunately, the action by USDA to remove it from the select agent list will permit a greater number of researchers to work with the organism and monitor its progress across the soybean fields of the country. Regulations that are more science-based and flexible will allow essential scientific investigation to proceed. For the cases for which the select agent regulation remains sensible, it is important that funding programs allow investigators to budget for the biosafety and security measures that are legally required to work with these organisms. These requirements are becoming necessary for many non-select agent plant pathogens as well and must be met for basic research to continue.

Basic research is stifled by a number of forces in the research funding arena. The push for applied results in a short timescale as seen in the USDA's National Research Initiative is one such force. While understandable that agencies are under pressure to demonstrate an immediate payoff from research supported by taxpayers, this ultimately drains the scientific foundation of innovation. If every grant is charged with generating specific, applied solutions to problems that are most politically compelling at the time, there will not be time or resources for the occasional unexpected but remarkable discovery. This phenomenon is currently at its worst in the area of biodefense research. In fact, biological research funding programs are currently skewed in favor of supporting proposals with a biodefense spin, and the agricultural arena is no exception.

The product-oriented leaning of research funding programs also spills over to discourage proposals that are not stoked with preliminary data. This puts innovative but perhaps “high-risk” proposals at a funding disadvantage because they are seen as exploratory or speculative rather than hypothesis-driven. It also puts younger investigators at a disadvantage.

FOOD & AGRICULTURE ADVOCACY

Successful institution of the changes necessary to revitalize food and agriculture research must be influenced by various players. Consumers, commodity groups, and legislators need to be persuaded of the importance of food and agriculture microbiology research, particularly basic research. Organizations whose members are part of this research community include the American Society for Microbiology, the American Phytopathological Society, the Institute of Food Technologists, the Council on Agricultural Science and Technology, and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.

More successful communication of the benefits of food and agricultural microbiological research is critical. Interested organizations and academic institutions can contribute by training some of their scientists in speaking to and writing for the lay public. They can further contribute by training educators of non-scientists to be able to convey basic scientific literacy. As scientific information can reach and be understood by the public, facts become more likely to be used for decision making. This will be of benefit to many arenas, including those that impact food quality and safety, public health, and environmental protection. It will also encourage the public to be a more informed participant in decisions regarding food and agriculture technology, rather than being either complacent or frenzied by rumor and conjecture.

Building awareness of the critical value of a broad, basic research agenda in food and agriculture microbiology is an important step to overcoming obstacles that have in fact hindered the progress of these disciplines.

RECOMMENDATIONS

RESEARCH AGENDA

Study the impact of production and processing practices on microorganism evolution, persistence, and antibiotic/pesticide resistance as they affect agricultural animals, plants, and environments.
Apply systems biology approaches to understanding communities of microorganisms within agricultural hosts, food matrices, and production/processing environments.
Develop more sophisticated understanding of the nature, specificity and adaptation of microorganisms to food environments, hosts (human/animal/plant), and host responses to both pathogenic and beneficial microbes.
Use a comparative pathobiology approach to understand the importance of pathogens that cross from animals or plants to humans and what characteristics enable their pathogenicity to multiple hosts.
Develop microbial technologies that can be applied in agricultural contexts for reduction of inputs, bioremediation of pollution, conversion of biomass, and converting wastes to fuel.
Pursue multidisciplinary strategies for developing knowledge and technologies to solve food and agriculture problems.

REBUILDING THE FOUNDATION FOR TECHNOLOGY USE & RESEARCH

Coordinate development and standardize use of diagnostic tests across agricultural production, food processing, and public health systems to provide a foundation for integrated surveillance systems.
Provide, through integrated educational initiatives, scientifically trained professionals who will serve the food and agricultural communities.
Facilitate implementation of systems approaches, long-term projects, and multidisciplinary research in food and agricultural microbiology.

REFERENCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fiehn, O. 2001. Combining genomics, metabolome analyis, and biochemical modelling to understand metabolic networks. Comparative and Functional Genomics. 2:155–168. [ PMC free article : PMC2447208 ] [ PubMed : 18628911 ]
Harmon, PF, MT Momol, JJ Marois, H Dankers, and CL Harmon. 2005. Asian soybean rust caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi on soybean and kudzu in Florida. Online. Plant Health Progress doi: 10 .1094/PHP-2005-0613-01-RS .
Institute of Food Technologists. 2002. Emerging microbiological food safety issues: implications for control in the 21 st century.
National Research Council. 2000. National Research Initiative: A Vital Competitive Grants Program in Food, Fiber, and Natural-Resources Research. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. [ PubMed : 25032473 ]
Schumann, GL. 1991. Plant Diseases: Their Biology and Social Impact. American Phytopathologial Society, St. Paul, MN.
http://www .dh.gov.uk /PublicationsAndStatistics /PressReleases /PressReleasesNotices /fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4112474&chk =tbjtJp
http://www .fsis.usda .gov/Fact_Sheets/Bovine _Spongiform_Encephalopathy_BSE/index .asp
http://www .plantmanagementnetwork .org/infocenter /topic/soybeanrust/

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License .

Cite this Page Research Opportunities in Food & Agriculture Microbiology: This report is based on a colloquium, sponsored by the American Academy of Microbiology, held March 12-14, 2005, in Washington, DC. Washington (DC): American Society for Microbiology; 2005. doi: 10.1128/AAMCol.12Mar.2005
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MICROBIOLOGICAL CHALLENGES TO FOOD & AGRICULTURE
MEETING CHALLENGES WITH MICROBIOLOGICAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
MICROBIOLOGY RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES TO ADVANCE FOOD & AGRICULTURE
OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO SUCCESSFUL AGRICULTURAL & FOOD MICROBIOLOGY RESEARCH
REFERENCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Insights in Food Microbiology: 2023

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To shed light on the latest breakthroughs and cutting-edge research, Frontiers in Microbiology presents this compelling series of Research Topics. Spearheaded by esteemed experts, Dr. Dario De Medici, Dr. David Rodriguez-Lazaro and Dr. Rosanna Tofalo, this collection is dedicated to exploring novel ...

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Warming Arctic reduces dust levels in parts of the planet

Research finds antidesertification measures needed in tandem with emission reductions.

Dust can have a huge impact on local air quality, food security, energy supply and public health. Previous studies have found that dust levels are decreasing across India, particularly northern India, the Persian Gulf Coast and much of the Middle East, but the reason has remained unclear. SEAS researchers found that the decrease in dust can be attributed to the Arctic warming much faster than the rest of the planet, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification. This process destabilizes the jet stream and changes storm tracks and wind patterns over the major sources of dust in West and South Asia.

Ironically, the best-case scenario for emissions -- carbon neutrality -- could have the worst impact for dust because if humans reduce emissions enough to slow or stop Arctic amplification, then the jet stream and wind patterns would likely return to pre-warming states, which would lead to an increase in dust. The researchers find that as the global community works to reduce greenhouse emissions, local governments should simultaneously be working to address dust reduction.

Climate change is a global phenomenon, but its impacts are felt at a very local level.

Take, for example, dust. Dust can have a huge impact on local air quality, food security, energy supply and public health. Yet, little is known about how global climate change is impacting dust levels.

Previous studies have found that dust levels are actually decreasing across India, particularly northern India, the Persian Gulf Coast and much of the Middle East, but the reason has remained unclear. Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) are working to understand how global climate change is impacting dust levels in the region.

In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , a team of researchers led by Michael B. McElroy, the Gilbert Butler Professor of Environmental Studies at SEAS, found that the decrease in dust can be attributed to the Arctic warming much faster than the rest of the planet, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification. This process destabilizes the jet stream and changes storm tracks and wind patterns over the major sources of dust in West and South Asia -- namely the Arabian Peninsula and the Thar Desert between India and Pakistan.

"Local land management, rapid urbanization and industrialization certainly contribute to dust levels West and South Asia but the novel insight from our study is the increasingly dominant influence of circulation change on the broader global climate context," said McElroy. "Changes in atmospheric circulation patterns, driven by global climate dynamics shifts, have emerged as the principal driver behind the observed recent dust reductions in West and South Asia."

What does that mean for the future of dust in the region? It all depends on how we curb emissions. Ironically, the best-case scenario for emissions -- carbon neutrality -- could have the worst impact for dust. If humans can reduce emissions enough to slow or stop Arctic amplification, then the jet stream and wind patterns would likely return to pre-warming states, which would lead to an increase in dust.

Of course, that doesn't mean we shouldn't pursue carbon neutrality, said McElroy. But as the global community works to reduce greenhouse emissions, local governments should simultaneously be working to address dust reduction.

"At the local level, we need to be thinking about stronger anti-desertification actions such as reforestation and irrigation management and how to better monitor urban-level dust concentrations, in concert with broad climate mitigation strategies," said McElroy.

The research was co-authored by Fan Wang, Yangyang Xu, Piyushkumar N. Patel, Ritesh Gautam, Meng Gao, Cheng Liu, Yihui Ding, Haishan Chen, Yuanjian Yang, Yuyu Zhou and Gregory R. Carmichael. The research was supported by grants from National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFC3700103), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project Nos. 42322902 and 42375095), and the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project Nos. C2002- 22Y, 22201820, and 12202021).

Global Warming
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Materials provided by Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences . Original written by Leah Burrows. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

Fan Wang, Yangyang Xu, Piyushkumar N. Patel, Ritesh Gautam, Meng Gao, Cheng Liu, Yihui Ding, Haishan Chen, Yuanjian Yang, Yuyu Zhou, Gregory R. Carmichael, Michael B. McElroy. Arctic amplification–induced decline in West and South Asia dust warrants stronger antidesertification toward carbon neutrality . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 2024; 121 (14) DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2317444121

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About 1 in 10 restaurants in the U.S. serve Mexican food

A customer pays for her meal at a Mexican food truck in Indiantown, Florida. (Jeff Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Mexican culture is widely established in America’s restaurants. Some 11% of restaurants in the United States serve Mexican food, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from SafeGraph , which curates information about millions of places of interest around the globe, and the user review site Yelp.

Although especially common in California and Texas, Mexican restaurants are found in a large majority of counties in the U.S. Some 37.2 million people in the U.S. trace their ancestry to Mexico , making Mexican Americans by far the largest Hispanic origin group in the nation.

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to examine the geographic distribution and characteristics of Mexican restaurants in the United States, including Puerto Rico. We focused on Mexican restaurants because Mexican Americans are the nation’s largest Hispanic origin group – and because Mexican food is so widespread in the U.S. Throughout this analysis, we use phrases such as “Mexican restaurants” and “restaurants that serve Mexican food” interchangeably.

To conduct this analysis, we purchased restaurant data from SafeGraph , which curates information about millions of places of interest around the globe. “Restaurants” are places defined by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) as “Restaurants and Other Eating Places” (NAICS code 7225). When we collected this data on March 23, 2023, SafeGraph had records for 788,018 operational restaurants nationwide.

We used SafeGraph’s category tags to build an initial list of Hispanic or Latino restaurants in America. This list includes restaurants tagged with the following categories: Argentine, Brazilian, Cuban, Mexican, Peruvian, Portuguese and Spanish, along with catchall categories for “Caribbean food” and “Latin American food.”

As part of this analysis, we also matched the restaurants in the SafeGraph data with data from the review site Yelp, using the official Yelp API . We matched the Yelp restaurant identifiers (restaurant name and address) to the corresponding restaurants in the SafeGraph dataset using Python’s FastLink package, an implementation of the Fellegi-Sunter probabilistic record linkage model. This matching supplemented the SafeGraph data with more detailed food origin and dish categories, as well as restaurant details such as average price range.

Of the 101,009 restaurants with some sort of Hispanic or Latino food category tag in the SafeGraph data, we were able to find matching entries for 92,718 restaurants (92%) on Yelp. After examining a selection of unmatched restaurants, we found two main reasons why. In some cases, the business did not have any reviews on Yelp (the Yelp API does not return information for businesses with no user-contributed enhancements ). In other cases, these restaurants had closed between the time we purchased the SafeGraph data in March 2023 and when we conducted the Yelp matching in September 2023.

After matching the original SafeGraph records with the Yelp data, the final combined dataset included restaurants serving the following types of Hispanic or Latino food: Argentine, Brazilian, Colombian, Cuban, Dominican, Haitian, Honduran, Mexican, Nicaraguan, Peruvian, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, Salvadoran, Spanish, Trinidadian and Venezuelan, as well as categories for “Caribbean food” and “Latin American food.” Our analysis of restaurants other than Mexican is limited due to the small number tagged this way.

The data also included tags for specific types of food such as “Tex-Mex,” “tacos” and “empanadas.” Restaurants with “Tex-Mex” and “tacos” tags are included in the “Mexican food” category, while those tagged with “empanadas” are included in the “Latin American food” category, unless the restaurant is already tagged with a more specific category.

Individual restaurants can be tagged with multiple categories. For instance, a restaurant may include tags for “Mexican food” and “Salvadoran food.” These restaurants are counted under all categories listed in the dataset.

County-level population estimates for the U.S. come from table B01003 of the American Community Survey’s 5-year 2019 estimates, which include counties and county equivalents (such as Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska).

Which states and counties have the most Mexican restaurants?

This analysis finds that 85% of U.S. counties have at least one Mexican restaurant. In turn, the counties that don’t have Mexican restaurants tend to have small populations. The 15% of counties without any Mexican restaurants have about 4 million people living in them. That is just 1% of the total U.S. population.

Related: 71% of Asian restaurants in the U.S. serve Chinese, Japanese or Thai food

Mexican restaurants are most common in California and Texas. These two states, which are home to a majority of the Mexican American population , have around 40% of all Mexican restaurants in the country: 22% are in California, while 17% are in Texas.

In California, Los Angeles County alone is home to 30% of the state’s Mexican restaurants. In Texas, 17% of the state’s Mexican restaurants are in Harris County, which includes Houston; 9% each are located in Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, and in Dallas County.

A map of the U.S. showing that most counties have at least one Mexican restaurant, but LA County tops the list.

Florida, New York and Illinois also contain large numbers of Mexican restaurants. Each state has 4% of the nationwide total of these restaurants. All told, 51% of all Mexican restaurants in the U.S. are in California, Texas, Florida, New York or Illinois.

Where do Mexican restaurants make up the largest share of eateries?

In addition to examining which parts of the country have the most Mexican restaurants, we also looked at where they make up the largest share of restaurants.

A bar chart showing that in 10 U.S. counties, Mexican establishments account for more than a third of all restaurants.

By this metric, Mexican restaurants make up an especially large share of all restaurants in Southwestern states that border Mexico. They account for 22% of all restaurants in New Mexico, 20% in Texas, 18% in Arizona and 17% in California.

At the county level, there are 10 where Mexican restaurants account for more than 33% of all restaurants. Eight of these 10 counties are in Texas, and most are along the U.S.-Mexico border. (This analysis excludes counties that have fewer than 15 restaurants of any type.)

What are some common features of Mexican restaurants?

This analysis finds that 22% of Mexican restaurants nationwide are “fast food” restaurants, 12% specialize in serving tacos, 8% are classified as food trucks or carts, and 6% offer “Tex-Mex” food.

Mexican restaurants also tend to be modestly priced. Among restaurants with pricing data, 61% of Mexican restaurants are rated as one “dollar sign” on Yelp’s four-point pricing scale. Less than 1% of all Mexican restaurants nationwide – just 251 in total – have a rating of three or four dollar signs on the Yelp scale. Around a quarter of these more expensive Mexican restaurants are in Los Angeles County; Cook County, where Chicago is located; and New York County, home of Manhattan.

How common are other types of Latino or Hispanic restaurants in the U.S.?

Mexican Americans are the largest Hispanic group in the U.S., but 40% of the nation’s Latinos claim another Hispanic origin . Yet our analysis finds that only 2% of U.S. restaurants serve Hispanic or Latino cuisine other than Mexican.

The most common types of non-Mexican Hispanic restaurants include Caribbean, Cuban, “Latin American,” Peruvian, Salvadoran and Spanish restaurants. But none makes up more than 1% of restaurants nationwide. (There are other types of Hispanic restaurants in addition to these, but they each make up 0.1% or less of restaurants nationwide and are not included in this analysis.)

Maps showing that 29% of U.S. counties contain Hispanic or Latino restaurants that are not primarily Mexican.

Put differently, Mexican restaurants account for the vast majority of Hispanic or Latino restaurants of any kind. And although many non-Mexican restaurants also offer Mexican food, the reverse is less often true. For example, 38% of Salvadoran and 25% of Honduran restaurants in the U.S. also serve Mexican food. But just 3% of Mexican restaurants also serve other kinds of Hispanic or Latino food.

Hispanic or Latino restaurants that are not Mexican are also much less geographically widespread than Mexican restaurants. Fully 85% of U.S. counties have at least one Mexican restaurant, but 29% have some type of Latino or Hispanic restaurant that is not primarily Mexican.

These Latino or Hispanic restaurants make up a relatively large share of restaurants in places like Florida – especially in and around Miami-Dade County – or in New York and New Jersey near New York City. But even in these areas, Mexican restaurants make up for a comparable – and sometimes larger – share of all restaurants than those serving other Hispanic or Latino food.

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Food microbiology articles from across Nature Portfolio. ... Research Highlights 11 Apr 2022 Nature Reviews Microbiology. Volume: 20, P: 318. Ensuring safety in artisanal food microbiology.
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In these studies, Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) studies revealed new dimensions of microbial ecology. The stress response in food microbes has been the focus of more than 400 articles published in the last 10 years, and more than 20 RTs have targeted microbial resistance. A wide range of food bacteria, pathogens or not, have been described ...
Food Microbiology
Food Microbiology publishes original research articles, short research communications, and review papers dealing with all aspects of the microbiology of foods.The editors aim to publish manuscripts of the highest quality which are both relevant and applicable to the broad field covered by the journal. Studies must be novel and have a clear connection to the microbiology of foods or food ...
Insights in Food Microbiology: 2021
This Research Topic is part of the Insights in Frontiers in Microbiology series. We are now entering the third decade of the 21st Century, and, especially in the last years, the achievements made by scientists in the field of Microbiology have been exceptional, leading to major advancements. Frontiers has organized a series of Research Topics to highlight the latest advancements in science in ...
Food Microbiology
Food Microbiology Virtual Issue. MiniReviews are concise summaries of key topics in a variety of fields, and are highly versatile: Explore the free collection of MiniReviews on Food Microbiology from FEMS Microbiology Ecology, FEMS Microbiology Letters , Pathogens and Disease, and FEMS Yeast Research. Topics covered include brewing yeast design ...
89797 PDFs
Mohammed I. Mujallad. Sulaiman M. I. Alajel. Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a foodborne pathogen, which causes various health conditions in humans, including fatigue, nausea, bloody diarrhoea and in ...
Food Microbiology: Fundamentals and Frontiers, 5th Edition
The most recent edition of Food Microbiology: Fundamentals and Frontiers is edited by Michael Doyle, Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, and Colin Hill, well-known names to food microbiologists and possessing broad expertise in pathogenic and beneficial microorganisms (Figure).This book is intended for those with basic knowledge of food microbiology looking for more in-depth discussion of topics commonly ...
(PDF) Food Microbiology: The Past and the New Challenges ...
New Challenges for the Next 10 Y ears. Giovanna Suzzi *and Aldo Corsetti. Faculty of BioScience and Technology for Food, Agriculture and Environment, University of T eramo, Teramo, Italy. Keywords ...
Six Key Topics in Microbiology: 2024
Six Key Topics in Microbiology: 2024. in Virtual Special Issues. This collection from the FEMS journals presents the latest high-quality research in six key topic areas of microbiology that have an impact across the world. All of the FEMS journals aim to serve the microbiology community with timely and authoritative research and reviews, and by ...
Frontiers
In these studies, Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) studies revealed new dimensions of microbial ecology. The stress response in food microbes has been the focus of more than 400 articles published in the last 10 years, and more than 20 RTs have targeted microbial resistance. A wide range of food bacteria, pathogens or not, have been described ...
(PDF) Food Microbiology
Abstract and Figures. Food microbiology studies the role of microorganisms in foods. It includes aspects of microbial ecology in food as well as the use of microorganisms for production of ...
Frontiers in Microbiology
Food Microbiology giovanna suzzi. University of Teramo. Teramo, Italy. ... Eskişehir, Türkiye. Associate Editor. Food Microbiology analia graciela abraham. Center for Research and Development in Food, Faculty of Exact Sciences, National University of La Plata. La Plata, ... Research Topics See all (206)
Food microbiology current and future topics of investigation
According to the Bloomberg Intelligence Report, plant-based food sales are expected to increase fivefold by 2030.6 Fermented plant-based foods are important as a potential replacement for fermented dairy products as they are naturally lactose-free and have a good source of bio-active compounds. However, there is a need for new strains of LAB ...
Insights
Food Microbiology publishes original research articles, short research communications, and review papers dealing with all aspects of the microbiology of foods. The editors aim to publish manuscripts of the highest quality which are both relevant and applicable to the broad field covered by the …. View full aims & scope.
43 Project Topics on Food Microbiology: Latest
Food microbiology seminar topics. Here's a list of seminar topics in food microbiology: 1. Foodborne pathogens: Identification, detection, and control strategies . 2. Microbial spoilage of food: Causes, mechanisms, and prevention . 3. Emerging trends in food microbiology research . 4. Microbiological safety of fresh produce: Challenges and ...
List of Some Food Microbiology Project Topics in Pdf You Can Consider
This means you are going to specifically be looking for only microbiology research topics that have to do with food. Food microbiology research topics will focus on research about the microorganisms that inhabit, help create or contaminate food. So we have quickly put together a list of food related microbiology project topics (pdf & word) for you.
Food Microbiology
Food microbiology comprehends the study of microorganisms that colonise, modify, and process, or contaminate and spoil food. It is one of the most diverse research areas within microbiology. It comprises a wide variety of microorganisms including spoilage, probiotic, fermentative, and pathogenic bacteria, moulds, yeasts, viruses, prions, and ...
Food Microbiology
Fermentation research featured in Food Microbiology incorporates concerns from various other topics such as Lactobacillus plantarum, Wine and Starter. Research on Listeria monocytogenes addressed in Food Microbiology frequently intersections with the field of Food preservation. Food science (50.46%) Microbiology (33.30%) Bacteria (20.18%)
Artificial intelligence can develop treatments to ...
The research team's AI was able to figure out the most efficient antibiotic cycling plans to treat multiple strains of E. coli and prevent drug resistance. The study shows that AI can support ...
New research shows 'profound' link between dietary choices and brain
Published in Nature, the research showed that a healthy, balanced diet was linked to superior brain health, cognitive function and mental wellbeing.The study, involving researchers at the ...
Frontiers
Editorial: Insights in food microbiology: 2021. This Research Topic is part of the Insights in Frontiers in Microbiology series launched in 2021. As we are entering the third decade of the twenty-first century, and, especially in the last years, the achievements made by scientists in the field of Microbiology have been exceptional, leading to ...
Editorial: Insights in food microbiology: 2021
Editorial: Insights in food microbiology: 2021. This Research Topic is part of the Insights in Frontiers in Microbiology series launched in 2021. As we are entering the third decade of the twenty-first century, and, especially in the last years, the achievements made by scientists in the field of Microbiology have been exceptional, leading to ...
New research defines specific genomic changes associated with the
New research defines specific genomic changes associated with the transmissibility of the monkeypox virus. ScienceDaily . Retrieved April 23, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com / releases / 2024 / 04 ...
Intriguing food reflex discovered with a smartphone
Psychologist Hilmar Zech found that overweight people are actually more attracted to food pictures after eating than before. He did so using an old research method that he revamped for use on ...
Research Opportunities in Food & Agriculture Microbiology
This report presents a wealth of research opportunities in food and agriculture microbiology. The backdrop for these research opportunities is a world of microorganisms teeming with threats and benefits to abundant, healthy food and associated environments. Threats come from microbial pathogens that perpetrate a wide range of plant and animal diseases, destroying agricultural productivity.
Insights in Food Microbiology: 2023
This Research Topic aims to motivate, educate, and provide direction to researchers engaged in the Food Microbiology section. Please note that this collection is exclusively open to manuscripts from our Associate and Review Editorial Board Members. Keywords : insights, food microbiology, foodborne pathogens, food safety, probiotics ...
What the data says about food stamps in the U.S.
One component of the recent deal to raise the federal debt limit and cut government spending is additional work requirements for certain people who receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP - commonly known as food stamps.. The food stamp program is one of the larger federal social welfare initiatives, and in its current form has been around for nearly six ...
Warming Arctic reduces dust levels in parts of the planet
The research was supported by grants from National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFC3700103), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project Nos. 42322902 and 42375095 ...
About 1 in 10 restaurants in the U.S. serve Mexican food
This matching supplemented the SafeGraph data with more detailed food origin and dish categories, as well as restaurant details such as average price range. Of the 101,009 restaurants with some sort of Hispanic or Latino food category tag in the SafeGraph data, we were able to find matching entries for 92,718 restaurants (92%) on Yelp.