openPR Logo
Press release

SALAD & SALMONELLA - FOOD POISONING AS A SIDE DISH

05-28-2008 01:53 PM CET | Science & Education

Press release from: Austrian Science Fund FWF

Unnoticed on your plate – here marked with a fluorescent protein. Salmonella in plant cells.

Unnoticed on your plate – here marked with a fluorescent protein. Salmonella in plant cells.

Salmonella can also infect plant cells and successfully evade all the defence mechanisms of plants. As a result, cleaning the surfaces of raw fruits and vegetables, e.g. by washing, is not sufficient to protect against food poisoning. This surprising discovery, made during a project supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, has been published today. The results of the project are based on a model plant, which also represents the ideal basis for future development work on treatment and testing systems in the area of food safety.

1.5 billion (!) cases of food poisoning are caused by Salmonella bacteria each year (World Health Organisation). If the bacteria survive particularly well in a person, they can even infect intestinal cells and persist for longer. Previously, the only known sources of infection were infected meat products and plants that had come into contact with contaminated water. However, work by the Unité de Recherche en Génomique Végétale (URGV) in Evry, France, and the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (MFPL) in Vienna, Austria, has now shown that this is not entirely true.

FRUIT & VEGGIES & BACTERIA
Work carried out by a team led by geneticist Prof. Heribert Hirt, and published today in PloS ONE, shows that the strain of bacteria known as Salmonella typhimurium can also invade, and multiply inside, plant cells. It is already known that Salmonella can survive for up to 900 days in contaminated soils, which creates a rich source of infection for plant material. However, Prof. Hirt's team can now show that bacteria from such a source can actively achieve the infection of plant cells, thereby disproving the previous assumption that infection was coincidental and - as regards the bacteria - passive.

Prof. Hirt explains: "We marked individual bacteria with a fluorescent protein, which enabled us to observe them as they quite clearly penetrated root cells and multiplied. Just three hours after the bacteria came into contact with the roots, they had penetrated inside the cells of the finest root hairs. 17 hours later, the cells inside of the roots had also become infected."

WEAK DEFENCE GAME
In principle, plants are anything other than helpless when under bacterial attack, and know how to defend themselves. They have a whole range of defence mechanisms they can use to ward off infection. The team also investigated the efficacy of these mechanisms when under attack from Salmonella bacteria. Prof. Hirt describes their results: "The defence mechanisms fail completely. Although regulating proteins such as the two mitogen-activated protein kinases 3 and 6 are activated just 15 minutes after Salmonella has infected the plant, they cannot prevent the bacteria from multiplying. Another defence mechanism, which is activated by the plant messengers salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and ethylene, proves similarly ineffective. Although these messengers are important to coregraph the plant defense responses, they too are unable to halt the infection."

Prof. Hirt's discovery has important implications for the production and processing of foodstuffs. As emerging nations develop into industrial countries, a development that can be witnessed around the world, their needs for food and water also grow. Besides the use of organic manures, many of which come from animals, these needs also necessitate irrigation, often with contaminated - and therefore potentially infectious - water. If, as has now been discovered, Salmonella survives and multiplies in plant cells, then washing raw fruit and vegetables does nothing to prevent food poisoning. Instead, scientists need to develop new methods of treatment and testing to tackle Salmonella infections in plants. This FWF-supported project has already created the ideal basis for this work in the form of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, which was used by the team from URGV and MFPL in its study.

Text and image material available from 11:00 GMT on Wednesday 28 May at:
http://www.fwf.ac.at/en/public_relations/press/pv200805-2en.html

Original publication: The dark side of salad: Salmonella typhimurium overcomes the innate immune response of Arabidospis thaliana and shows an endopathogenic lifestyle. A. Schikora, A. Carreri, E. Charpentier, Heribert Hirt, Plos ONE.

Scientific Contact:
Prof. Heribert Hirt

Austria:
Max F. Perutz Laboratories
University of Vienna
1030 Vienna
Austria
T +43 / 1 / 4277 - 54612
M +43 / 664 / 60277 - 54612
E heribert.hirt@univie.ac.at

France: URGV Plant Genomics
INRA-CNRS-Université d’Évry
2 rue gaston Cremieux
F- 91057 Evry-Cedex
France
M +33 / 637 / 458 - 258
E hirt@evry.inra.fr


Austrian Science Fund FWF:
Mag. Stefan Bernhardt
Haus der Forschung
Sensengasse 1
1090 Vienna
Austria
T +43 / 1 / 505 67 40 - 8111
E stefan.bernhardt@fwf.ac.at


Copy Editing & Distribution:
PR&D - Public Relations for Research & Education
Campus Vienna Biocenter 2
1030 Vienna
Austria
T +43 / 1 / 505 70 44
E contact@prd.at

Vienna, 28th May 2008

The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) is Austria's central body for the promotion of basic research. It is equally committed to all branches of science and in all its activities is guided solely by the standards of the international scientific community.

This release was published on openPR.

Permanent link to this press release:

Copy
Please set a link in the press area of your homepage to this press release on openPR. openPR disclaims liability for any content contained in this release.

You can edit or delete your press release SALAD & SALMONELLA - FOOD POISONING AS A SIDE DISH here

News-ID: 45674 • Views:

More Releases from Austrian Science Fund FWF

Human rights: Extrajudicial complaint mechanisms particularily suitable
Reconciling corporate interests with human rights is a difficult endeavour. A research project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF demonstrates that non-judicial complaint mechanisms may be an adequate avenue for conflict resolution. For a number of years, companies have been facing increased pressure when it comes to human rights violations. Numerous multinational corporations such as Shell Oil, Texaco or Unocal were accused of such violations, resulting in years of
Body language in the classroom
Body language plays a crucial role, particularly in communication between teachers and students. This is the outcome of a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF which focused on the hidden elements of teaching. An encouraging smile, a sceptical frown, a negating shake of the head: body language is very diverse and effective. With the discovery of mirror neurons, brain researchers corroborated its impact by demonstrating how these nerve cells
Art history – In the eye of the beholder
What viewers of a work of art see and feel is informed by their socio-cultural background and by how familiar they are with the image. Art historians have now verified this theory with the help of methods that are usually used in psychology. This project is funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF. The influence culture has on an individual's experience and behaviour is a long-standing object of research
Targeting chronic pain
With the support of the Austrian Science Fund FWF, the neurophysiologist Ruth Drdla-Schutting is investigating the role astrocytes play in the genesis of chronic pain. With the help of innovative gene technology (DREADDs), scientists are tailoring treatment specifically to these cells that are the most numerous found in the central nervous system. Pain is an important protection system of the human body. But when it becomes chronic, as it frequently

All 4 Releases


More Releases for Salmonella

New FSIS Initiative To Control Salmonella In Poultry Products
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced a new initiative to control Salmonella in poultry products and reduce Salmonella-related illnesses in the U.S. in October 2021. FSIS stated that despite their continued efforts to reduce Salmonella infection in the U.S. food supply, the number of confirmed illnesses in the American population was above target. FSIS estimated over 1 million consumers were sickened with Salmonella-related illnesses
Salmonella Testing Market Growth with Worldwide Industry Analysis to 2024
The rising prevalence of salmonella infection is by far the leading factor driving the global salmonella testing market. This infection generally affects the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals, which may turn life threatening if left untreated for a long period. Contaminated food items such as infected meat, eggs, and unpasteurized milk and dairy products are the major source of transmission of the infection. Over the past few years, there
Salmonella Testing Market - Global Market Opportunity Assessment Study 2024.
Global Salmonella Testing Market: Overview The rising prevalence of salmonella infection is by far the leading factor driving the global salmonella testing market. This infection generally affects the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals, which may turn life threatening if left untreated for a long period. Contaminated food items such as infected meat, eggs, and unpasteurized milk and dairy products are the major source of transmission of the infection. Over
Salmonella Testing Market Research Report | Value Chain Analysis | Forecast 2024
Salmonella Testing Market: Overview Salmonella is a genus of gram negative bacteria, which are rod shaped in nature. These bacteria are non spore forming, flagellate and motile. There are two important species of bacteria found in salmonella genus called as S Bongori and S Enterica. Infection by enterica termed as Enteritidis and it is most common infection among all species. Salmonella bacteria found in warm blooded animals including humans and causes
Salmonella Testing Market Research Report : forecast up to 2024
Global Salmonella Testing Market: Overview The rising prevalence of salmonella infection is by far the leading factor driving the global salmonella testing market. This infection generally affects the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals, which may turn life threatening if left untreated for a long period. Contaminated food items such as infected meat, eggs, and unpasteurized milk and dairy products are the major source of transmission of the infection. Over
Salmonella Testing Market : Future Demand and Growth Analysis
Salmonella Testing Market: Overview Salmonella is a genus of gram negative bacteria, which are rod shaped in nature. These bacteria are non spore forming, flagellate and motile. There are two important species of bacteria found in salmonella genus called as S Bongori and S Enterica. Infection by enterica termed as Enteritidis and it is most common infection among all species. Salmonella bacteria found in warm blooded animals including humans and causes