Saving People From Pathogen Caused Illnesses, One Bacterium At A Time

Maria Villamil, Sharon L. Walker and Ian M. Marcus

Department of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering
University of California, Riverside

Every year roughly 48 million people in the United States are infected via foodborne illnesses
caused by microbial pathogens, leading to approximately 3,000 preventable deaths per year.
Currently, state and federal government have set up regulations to prevent contamination of food
from the farm to the plate. However, as evidenced by the aforementioned statistics of the
quantity of individuals getting infected by pathogenic microorganisms; new standards should be
put in place that are influenced by rigorous scientific study of the behavior of pathogens in the
environment. In light of this need for furthering the knowledge of pathogen transport, the
objective of this study is to investigate the behavior of four bacterial species, two common
pathogenic (Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella typhimurium), and two non-pathogenic
bacteria (Escherichia coli BO5 and Escherichia coli BO1), which are used by the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) as surrogates for the pathogenic bacteria in order to
determine how best to remove them from food.
To investigate whether these non pathogenic bacteria could be used as surrogates for the
foodborne pathogens, all the cells were grown in two different medias (Minimal and Lysogeny
Broth), and exposed to three solutions chemistries calcium chloride (CaCl2), potassium chloride
(KCl), and artificial groundwater (AGW). Then these cells were characterized by evaluating their
production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), as well as their surface charge density.
Both measurements give glimpse into the stress level of the cells and allows to compare how
each bacteria behaves under different stress conditions by quantifying the proteins and sugars on
the surface and functional groups, respectively. This knowledge of how cells behave under
different enviornmental stress conditions, could be used to better understand how pathogens
move in the environment and thus inform strategies of their removal.

Every year roughly 48 million people in the United States are infected via foodborne illnesses
caused by microbial pathogens leading to approximately 3,000 preventable deaths per year. Thus
there is a need to develop new standards backed by rigorous scientific study of the behavior of
pathogens in the environment.

The objective of this study is to investigate the behavior of four bacterial species, two common
pathogenic (Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella typhimurium), and two non-pathogenic
bacteria (Escherichia coli BO5 and Escherichia coli BO1, which are commonly used as
surrogates for the aforementioned pathogens.

These cells were characterized by evaluating their production of extracellular polymeric

substances (EPS), as well as their surface charge density. Both measurements give glimpse into
the stress level of the cells and allows to compare how each bacteria behaves under different
stress conditions. This knowledge of how cells behave under different enviornmental stress
conditions, could be used to better understand how pathogens move in the environment and thus
inform strategies of their removal.