Definition of a panel of Salmonella strains, closely related bacteria, and genome markers for rapid, specific and sensitive detection, typing, and control of this foodborne pathogen.
Develop a bacteriophage-based biopesticide for control of Salmonella on growing food plants (spinach, lettuce, tomatoes).
The goal of Activity 3 is twofold: 1) to improve the specificity of already existing commercially available immunoassays and RT-PCR assays; and 2) develop a new sequence-based molecular assay (AmpliSeq) capable of determining the pathogenic status of Salmonella isolates, and delivering confirmed Salmonella testing results more rapidly than the current confirmatory testing.
To demonstrate the innovative use of next generation sequencing and efficient algorithm in developing guidelines for strain typing relevant for human surveillance and outbreak investigations.
Identify and address the ethical, legal, social and economic concerns that may arise from a shift to a risk-based food safety approach to regulate Salmonella, based on the pathogenicity of individual bacterial isolates.