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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Produce Safety and Microbiology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #381184
Research Project: Molecular Identification and Characterization of Bacterial and Viral Pathogens Associated with Foods

Location: Produce Safety and Microbiology Research

Title: Identification of colonies of cultured shellfish-associated Arcobacter species by elastic light scatter analysis

Author
item ON, STEPHEN - Lincoln University - New Zealand
item Miller, William - Bill
item Yee, Emma
item STURGIS, JENNIFER - Indiana University-Purdue University
item PATSEKIN, VALERY - Indiana University-Purdue University
item Lindsay, James
item ROBINSON, J - Indiana University-Purdue University

Submitted to: Current Research in Microbial Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/12/2021
Publication Date: 5/3/2021
Citation: On, S.L., Miller, W.G., Yee, E., Sturgis, J., Patsekin, V., Lindsay, J.A., Robinson, J.P. 2021. Discrimination of shellfish-associated Arcobacter species by Elastic Light Scatter analysis. Current Research in Microbial Science. 2. Article 100033. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crmicr.2021.100033.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crmicr.2021.100033

Interpretive Summary: Arcobacters are a group of bacteria mostly associated with water (fresh and marine) environments. These organisms are also routinely recovered from food (such as beef, pork, poultry and fish) and several species have been associated with gastroenteritis in humans. Several species of Arcobacter are commonly recovered from shellfish, with some of these species also implicated in human illness. Therefore, identifying such organisms would improve source tracking from shellfish food samples. This study used Elastic Light Scatter analysis to identify and type eleven different shellfish-associated Arcobacter species. This method was able to differentiate each Arcobacter species. Thus, Elastic Light Scatter is a promising new technique to identify shellfish-associated arcobacters and could be used potentially for other foods and other microorganisms.

Technical Abstract: An increasing number of Arcobacter species (including several regarded as emerging human foodborne pathogens) have been isolated from shellfish, an important food commodity. A method to distinguish these species and render viable isolates for further analysis would benefit epidemiological and ecological studies. We describe a method based on Elastic Light Scatter analysis (ELSA) for the detection and discrimination of eleven shellfish-associated Arcobacter species. Substantive differences in the growth rates of some taxa were seen, but ELSA was able to differentiate all of the species studied, apart from some strains of A. butzleri and A. cryaerophilus. These strains were nonetheless distinguished from all other species examined. ELSA appears to be a promising new approach for the detection and identification of Arcobacter species in shellfish and may be applicable for studies in other foods and matrices also.