title: Untangling metabolic and communication networks: interactions of enterics with phytobacteria and their implications in produce safety.
abstract: Recent outbreaks of vegetable-borne gastrointestinal illnesses across the globe demonstrate that human enteric pathogens can contaminate produce at any stage of production. Interactions of enterics with native plant-associated microbiota influence the microbiological safety of produce by affecting the attachment, persistence and proliferation of human pathogens on plants. Supermarket surveys have revealed that bacteria, but not fungi or mechanical damage, promote the growth of Salmonella enterica on produce. Field and laboratory studies have indicated that some plant pathogenic bacteria and fungi facilitate the entry and internalization of human pathogens in plants. Conversely, some phytobacteria, including those involved in biocontrol of plant diseases, significantly inhibit attachment and plant colonization by non-typhoidal Salmonella and enterovirulent Escherichia coli by producing antibiotics or competing for nutrients in the phyllosphere. In this review, we attempt to elucidate the mechanisms of interactions between human enteric pathogens and plant-associated microbiota, and describe how these interactions affect produce safety.
authors.affiliation: Soil and Water Science Department, Genetics Institute, University of Florida-IFAS, Gainesville, FL, USA. maxtep@ufl.edu
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Teplitski
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Warriner
authors.forename: Jerry
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bartz
authors.forename: Keith R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Schneider
mesh_terms: D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000382:microbiology*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000382:microbiology; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D004756:Enterobacteriaceae Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission*; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity; D005506:Food Contamination; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D056265:Microbial Interactions; D053038:Quorum Sensing; D012475:Salmonella / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity; D012480:Salmonella Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission; D014675:Vegetables / Q000382:microbiology