AEM
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Barak, J. D.
Right arrow Articles by Charkowski, A. O.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Barak, J. D.
Right arrow Articles by Charkowski, A. O.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Barak, J. D.
Right arrow Articles by Charkowski, A. O.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2002, p. 4758-4763, Vol. 68, No. 10
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.10.4758-4763.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Differences in Attachment of Salmonella enterica Serovars and Escherichia coli O157:H7 to Alfalfa Sprouts

J. D. Barak,* L. C. Whitehand, and A. O. Charkowski{dagger}

Produce Safety and Microbiological Research, Western Regional Research Center, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Albany, California 94710

Received 15 April 2002/ Accepted 4 July 2002

Numerous Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreaks have been associated with contaminated sprouts. We examined how S. enterica serovars, E. coli serotypes, and nonpathogenic bacteria isolated from alfalfa sprouts grow on and adhere to alfalfa sprouts. Growth on and adherence to sprouts were not significantly different among different serovars of S. enterica, but all S. enterica serovars grew on and adhered to alfalfa sprouts significantly better than E. coli O157:H7. E. coli O157:H7 was essentially rinsed from alfalfa sprouts with repeated washing steps, while 1 to 2 log CFU of S. enterica remained attached per sprout. S. enterica Newport adhered to 3-day-old sprouts as well as Pantoea agglomerans and 10-fold more than Pseudomonas putida and Rahnella aquatilis, whereas the growth rates of all four strains throughout seed sprouting were similar. S. enterica Newport and plant-associated bacteria adhered 10- to 1,000-fold more than E. coli O157:H7; however, three of four other E. coli serotypes, isolated from cabbage roots exposed to sewage water following a spill, adhered to sprouts better than E. coli O157:H7 and as well as the Pseudomonas and Rahnella strains. Therefore, attachment to alfalfa sprouts among E. coli serotypes is variable, and nonpathogenic strains of E. coli to be used as surrogates for the study of pathogenic E. coli may be difficult to identify and should be selected carefully, with knowledge of the biology being examined.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: USDA, ARS, WRRC, Food Safety and Health, 800 Buchanan St., Albany, CA 94710. Phone: (510) 559-6180. Fax: (510) 559-6162. Email: jbarak{at}pw.usda.gov.

{dagger} Present address: Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2002, p. 4758-4763, Vol. 68, No. 10
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.10.4758-4763.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
J. Bacteriol. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. Eukaryot. Cell All ASM Journals

Copyright © 2002 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.