Intraspecies competition among isolates in the lettuce leaf apoplast.

Multiple serovars and strains have been reported to be able to persist inside the foliar tissue of lettuce ( L.), potentially resisting washing steps and reaching the consumer. Intraspecies variation of the bacterial pathogen and of the plant host can both significantly affect the outcome of foliar colonization.

Dual transcriptomic analysis reveals metabolic changes associated with differential persistence of human pathogenic bacteria in leaves of Arabidopsis and lettuce.

Understanding the molecular determinants underlying the interaction between the leaf and human pathogenic bacteria is key to provide the foundation to develop science-based strategies to prevent or decrease the pathogen contamination of leafy greens. In this study, we conducted a dual RNA-sequencing analysis to simultaneously define changes in the transcriptomic profiles of the plant and the bacterium when they come in contact. We used an economically relevant vegetable crop, lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.

Breeding Crops for Enhanced Food Safety.

An increasing global population demands a continuous supply of nutritious and safe food. Edible products can be contaminated with biological (, bacteria, virus, protozoa), chemical (, heavy metals, mycotoxins), and physical hazards during production, storage, transport, processing, and/or meal preparation. The substantial impact of foodborne disease outbreaks on public health and the economy has led to multidisciplinary research aimed to understand the biology underlying the different contamination processes and how to mitigate food hazards.

Human Pathogen Colonization of Lettuce Dependent Upon Plant Genotype and Defense Response Activation.

Fresh produce contaminated with human pathogens may result in foodborne disease outbreaks that cause a significant number of illnesses, hospitalizations, and death episodes affecting both public health and the agribusiness every year. The ability of these pathogens to survive throughout the food production chain is remarkable. Using a genetic approach, we observed that leaf colonization by serovar Typhimurium 14028s ( Typhimurium 14028s) and O157:H7 was significantly affected by genetic diversity of lettuce ( L.

Surface Inoculation and Quantification of Population in the Leaf Apoplast.

Bacterial pathogens must enter the plant tissue in order to cause a successful infection. Foliar bacterial pathogens that are not able to directly penetrate the plant epidermis rely on wounds or natural openings to internalize leaves. This protocol describes a procedure to estimate the population size of in the leaf apoplast after surface inoculation of rosettes.