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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Food Safety and Intervention Technologies Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #315008
Title: Variable high pressure processing sensitivities for GII human noroviruses

Author
item LOU, FANGFEI - The Ohio State University
item LI, XINHUI - University Of Delaware
item DAI, XAINJUN - China Jiliang University
item MA, YUANMEI - The Ohio State University
item DICAPTRIO, ERIN - The Ohio State University
item HUGHES, JOHN - The Ohio State University
item CHEN, HAIQIANG - University Of Delaware
item Kingsley, David
item LI, JIANRONG - The Ohio State University

Submitted to: Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/27/2016
Publication Date: 9/16/2016
Citation: Lou, F., Li, X., Dai, X., Ma, Y., Dicaptrio, E., Hughes, J., Chen, H., Kingsley, D.H., Li, J. 2016. Variable high pressure processing sensitivities for GII human noroviruses. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 82:6037-45.

Interpretive Summary: High pressure processing (HPP) is a promising nonthermal intervention for norovirus-contaminated foods. In this study, different strains of norovirus were evaluated for high pressure sensitivity using the recently developed PGM-MB assay, which indicates norovirus inactivation. Results indicate that there are considerable differences in susceptibility to HPP among norovirus strains. Investigation of pH, temperature, and salinity effects using the common GII.4 strain indicates that like other strains tested to date, HPP is most effective against norovirus at neutral pH, at refrigeration temperatures, and low salt concentrations.

Technical Abstract: Human norovirus (HuNoV) is the leading cause of foodborne diseases worldwide. High pressure processing (HPP) is one of the most promising non-thermal technologies for decontamination of viral pathogens in foods. However, the survival of HuNoVs by HPP is poorly understood because these viruses cannot be propagated in vitro. In this study, we estimated the survival of different HuNoV strains within the GII genogroup after HPP treatment using viral receptor-binding ability as an indicator. Four HuNoV strains (one GII.1 strain, two GII.4 strains, and one GII.6 strain) were treated by high pressure ranging from 200-600 MegaPascal (MPa). After treatment, the intact viral particles were captured by porcine gastric mucin-conjugated magnetic beads (PGM-MBs) which contain histo-blood group-like antigens, the functional receptors for HuNoVs. The genomic RNA copies of the captured HuNoVs were quantified by real-time RT-PCR. It was found that two GII.4 HuNoVs had similar sensitivity to HPP. The susceptibilities of HuNoV strains against HPP ranked as GII.4 , GII.6 next, and then GII.1, with GII.4 being the most sensitive. Evaluation of temperature and matrix effects on HPP-mediated inactivation of HuNoV GII.4 strain showed that HuNoV GII.4 was more easily inactivated at lower temperature and at neutral pH. In addition, PBS and Minimal Essential Medium (MEM) can provide protective effects on HuNoV inactivation as compared to H2O. Collectively, this study demonstrated that (i) different human NoV strains within the GII genogroup exhibited different sensitivities to high pressure; and (ii) HPP is capable of inactivating human NoV GII.4 strains by optimizing pressure parameters.