@article{glaize_young_harden_gutierrez-rodriguez_thakur_2021, title={The effect of vegetation barriers at reducing the transmission of Salmonella and Escherichia coli from animal operations to fresh produce}, volume={347}, ISSN={["1879-3460"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2021.109196}, abstractNote={Due to the recent outbreaks of Salmonella and Escherichia coli in fresh produce in the United States, the transfer of foodborne pathogens between animal feeding operations and fresh produce continues to be a considerable risk. The purpose of this study was to determine if the establishment of a vegetation barrier (VB) on small-scale sustainable farms could prevent the transmission of Salmonella and E. coli to nearby fresh produce fields. A 5-layer VB (31 × 49 m) was constructed between a dairy farm, a poultry farm, and a nearby produce field. Fresh produce (i.e., romaine lettuce and tomato), animal feces, and environmental (i.e., air, soil, and barrier) samples were collected for 15 months from 2018 to 2019. Four replicates of soil and fresh produce samples were taken from three plots located 10 m, 61 m, and 122 m away from the respective animal locations and processed for Salmonella and E. coli. Air and vegetative strip samples were sampled at 15-day intervals. Multiple colonies were processed from each positive sample, and a total of 143 positive Salmonella (n = 15) and E. coli (n = 128) isolates were retrieved from the soil, produce, air, and fecal samples. Interestingly, 18.2% of the Salmonella and E. coli isolates (n = 26) were recovered from fresh produce (n = 9) samples. Surprisingly, Salmonella isolates (n = 9) were only found in fecal (n = 3) samples collected from the dairy pasture. Data analysis suggests that the VB is an effective tool at reducing the transmission of E. coli and Salmonella from animal farms to fresh produce fields. However, based on phenotypic and genotypic testing, it is clear that fecal samples from animal farms are not the only source of pathogen contamination. This indicates that the environment (e.g., soil and wind), as well as the initial setup of the farm (e.g., proximity to service roads and produce plot placement), can contribute to the contamination of fresh produce. Our study recommends the need for more effective bioremediation and prevention control measures to use in conjunction with VBs to reduce pathogen transmission.}, journal={INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD MICROBIOLOGY}, author={Glaize, Ayanna and Young, Morgan and Harden, Lyndy and Gutierrez-Rodriguez, Eduardo and Thakur, Siddhartha}, year={2021}, month={Jun} }
 @article{gutierrez-rodriguez_gundersen_sbodio_koike_suslow_2019, title={Evaluation of post-contamination survival and persistence of applied attenuated E. coli O157:H7 and naturally-contaminating E. coli O157:H7 on spinach under field conditions and following postharvest handling}, volume={77}, ISSN={["1095-9998"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.fm.2018.08.013}, abstractNote={This study determined the variability in population uniformity of an applied mixture of attenuated E. coli O157:H7 (attEcO157) on spinach leaves as impacted by sampling mass and detection technique over spatial and temporal conditions. Opportunistically, the survival and distribution of naturally contaminating pathogenic E. coli O157:H7 (EcO157), in a single packaged lot following commercial postharvest handling and washing, was also evaluated. From the main study outcomes, differences in the applied inoculum dose of 100-fold, resulted in indistinguishable population densities of approximately Log 1.1 CFU g−1 by 14 days post-inoculation (DPI). Composite leaf samples of 150 g and the inclusion of the spinach petiole resulted in the greatest numerical sensitivity of detection of attEcO157 when compared to 25 and 150 g samples without petioles (P < 0.05). Differences in population density and protected-site survival and potential leaf internalization were observed between growing seasons and locations in California (P < 0.05). A Double Weibull model best described and identified two distinct populations with different inactivation rates of the inoculated attEcO157. Linear die-off rates varied between 0.14 and 0.29 Log/Day irrespective of location. Detection of EcO157- stx1-negative and stx2-positive, resulting from a natural contamination event, was observed in 11 of 26 quarantined commercial units of washed spinach by applying the 150 g sample mass protocol. The capacity to detect EcO157 varied between commercial test kits and non-commercial qPCR. Our findings suggest the need for modifications to routine pathogen sampling protocols employed for lot acceptance of spinach and other leafy greens.}, journal={FOOD MICROBIOLOGY}, author={Gutierrez-Rodriguez, Eduardo and Gundersen, Amy and Sbodio, Adrian and Koike, Steven and Suslow, Trevor V}, year={2019}, month={Feb}, pages={173–184} }
 @article{romero_joo_park_tiezzi_gutierrez-rodriguez_castillo_2018, title={Bacterial and fungal communities, fermentation, and aerobic stability of conventional hybrids and brown midrib hybrids ensiled at low moisture with or without a homo- and heterofermentative inoculant}, volume={101}, ISSN={["1525-3198"]}, url={http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85041241637&partnerID=MN8TOARS}, DOI={10.3168/jds.2017-13754}, abstractNote={We evaluated the effects of adding a combination inoculant to 4 corn (Zea mays L.) hybrids harvested at low moisture on the nutritive value, fermentation profile, aerobic stability, bacterial and fungal populations, and community structure. The treatment design was the factorial combination of 4 corn hybrids ensiled with (INO) and without (CON) inoculant. The hybrids were TMF2R737 (MCN), F2F817 (MBR), P2089YHR (PCN), and PI144XR (PBR), ensiled at 44.0, 38.1, 42.0, and 41.3% of dry matter, respectively; MBR and PBR were brown midrib mutants. The inoculant contained Lactobacillus buchneri and Pediococcus pentosaceus (4 × 105 and 1 × 105 cfu/g of fresh corn). The experimental design was a complete randomized design with treatments replicated 6 times. Corn was chopped, treated or not with inoculant, packed into 7.6-L bucket silos, and stored for 100 d. At d 0, we found higher bacterial observed operational taxonomic units in the brown midrib mutants (MBR and PBR) relative to MCN and PCN (654 and 534 vs. 434 and 444 ± 15.5, respectively). The bacterial and fungal families with the highest relative abundance (RA) were Enterobacteriaceae (61.4%) and incertae sedis Tremellales (12.5%). At silo opening, we observed no effects of INO treatment on dry matter recovery (∼94.3 ± 1.07%), but aerobic stability was extended for all INO-treated hybrids (∼217 vs. ∼34.7 h), except for MBR (∼49 ± 38 h), due to a decreased yeast population (3.78 vs. 5.13 ± 0.440 log cfu/g of fresh corn) and increased acetic acid concentration (1.69 vs. 0.51 ± 0.132%) compared with the control. Furthermore, INO treatment reduced bacterial (61.2 vs. 276 ± 8.70) and increased fungal (59.8 vs. 43.6 ± 2.95) observed operational taxonomic units compared with CON. We observed that INO treatment increased the RA of Lactobacillaceae across all hybrids (∼99.1 vs. ∼58.9), and to larger extent MBR (98.3 vs. 34.3 ± 5.29), and decreased Enterobacteriaceae (0.614 vs. 23.5 ± 2.825%) among 4 other bacterial families relative to CON. For fungi, INO treatment increased the RA of Debaryomycetaceae (63.1 vs. 17.3 ± 8.55) and 5 other fungal families and decreased the RA of Pichiaceae (6.47 vs. 47.3 ± 10.95) and incertae sedis Saccharomycetales (8.47 vs. 25.9 ± 5.748) compared with CON. The bacterial and fungal community structures changed, due to ensiling, to a distinct and more stable community dominated by Lactobacillaceae and Debaryomycetaceae, respectively, when INO treatment was applied relative to CON. In conclusion, the INO treatment used in this study improved low-moisture whole-crop corn silage quality because of a shift in the bacterial and fungal community composition during ensiling.}, number={4}, journal={JOURNAL OF DAIRY SCIENCE}, publisher={Elsevier}, author={Romero, J. J. and Joo, Y. and Park, J. and Tiezzi, F. and Gutierrez-Rodriguez, E. and Castillo, M. S.}, year={2018}, month={Apr}, pages={3057–3076} }
 @article{gutierrez-rodriguez_adhikari_2018, title={Preharvest farming practices impacting fresh produce safety}, volume={6}, number={2}, journal={Microbiology Spectrum}, author={Gutierrez-Rodriguez, E. and Adhikari, A.}, year={2018} }
 @article{romero_zhao_balseca-paredes_tiezzi_gutierrez-rodriguez_castillo_2017, title={Laboratory silo type and inoculation effects on nutritional composition, fermentation, and bacterial and fungal communities of oat silage}, volume={100}, ISSN={["1525-3198"]}, url={http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85009486520&partnerID=MN8TOARS}, DOI={10.3168/jds.2016-11642}, abstractNote={The objectives were to evaluate (1) the use of 2 types of experimental silos (S) to characterize whole-crop oat (Avena sativa L.) silage with or without addition of an inoculant (I), and (2) the effect of inoculation on the microbial community structure of oats ensiled using only plastic bucket silos (BKT). From each of 6 sections in a field, oats were harvested, treated (INO) or not (CON) with inoculant, packed into 19-L BKT or vacuum bags (BG), and ensiled for 217 d. The inoculant added contained Lactobacillus buchneri and Pediococcus pentosaceus (4 × 105 and 1 × 105 cfu/g of fresh oats, respectively). The experimental design was a complete randomized design replicated 6 times. Treatment design was the factorial combination of 2 S × 2 I. Some differences existed between BG versus BKT at silo opening (217 d), including a decreased CP (7.73 vs. 7.04 ± 0.247% of DM) and ethanol (1.93 vs. 1.55 ± 0.155) and increased lactic acid (4.28 vs. 3.65 ± 0.241), respectively. Also, WSC and mold counts were reduced in BG versus BKT for CON (1.78 vs. 2.70 ± 0.162% of DM and 0.8 vs. 2.82 ± 0.409 log cfu/fresh g) but not for INO (∼1.53 and 1.55), respectively. Application of INO increased DM recovery (96.1 vs. 92.9 ± 0.63%), aerobic stability (565 vs. 133 ± 29.2 h), acetic acid (2.38 vs. 1.22 ± 0.116% of DM), and reduced NDF (65.0 vs. 67.0 ± 0.57), ADF (36.7 vs. 38.1 ± 0.60), ethanol (0.63 vs. 2.85 ± 0.155), and yeast counts (1.10 vs. 4.13 ± 0.484 log cfu/fresh g) in INO versus CON, respectively. At d 0, no differences were found for S and I on the nutritional composition and background microbial counts. Leuconostocaceae (82.9 ± 4.27%) and Enterobacteriaceae (15.2 ± 3.52) were the predominant bacterial families and unidentified sequences were predominant for fungi. A higher relative abundance of the Davidiellaceae fungal family (34.3 vs. 19.6 ± 4.47) was observed in INO versus CON. At opening (217 d), INO had a lower relative abundance of Leuconostocaceae (42.3 vs. 95.8 ± 4.64) and higher Lactobacillaceae (57.4 vs. 3.9 ± 4.65) versus CON. Despite several differences were found between BKT and BG, both techniques can be comparable for characterizing effects of INO on the most basic measures used in silage evaluation. The use of inoculant improved oat silage quality partially by a shift in the bacterial community composition during ensiling, which mainly consisted of an increased relative abundance of Lactobacillaceae and reduction of Leuconostocaceae relative to CON.}, number={3}, journal={JOURNAL OF DAIRY SCIENCE}, publisher={Elsevier}, author={Romero, J. J. and Zhao, Y. and Balseca-Paredes, M. A. and Tiezzi, F. and Gutierrez-Rodriguez, E. and Castillo, M. S.}, year={2017}, month={Mar}, pages={1812–1828} }