title: Inactivation of human norovirus and Tulane virus in simple media and fresh whole strawberries by ionizing radiation.
abstract: Human norovirus (NoV) is a major cause of fresh produce-associated outbreaks and human NoV in irrigation water can potentially lead to viral internalization in fresh produce. Therefore, there is a need to develop novel intervention strategies to target internalized viral pathogens while maintaining fresh produce quality. In this study electron beam (E-beam) and gamma radiation were evaluated for efficacy against a human NoV GII.4 strain and Tulane virus (TV). Virus survival following ionizing radiation treatments was determined using direct quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-qPCR), the porcine gastric mucin magnetic bead (PGM-MB) binding assay followed by RT-qPCR, and plaque assay. In simple media, a high dose of E-beam treatment was required to completely abolish the receptor binding ability of human NoV (35.3kGy) and TV (19.5-24.1kGy), as assessed using the PGM-MB binding assay. Both human NoV and TV were more susceptible to gamma irradiation than E-beam, requiring 22.4kGy to achieve complete inactivation. In whole strawberries, no human NoV or TV RNA was detected following 28.7kGy of E-beam treatment using the PGM-MB binding assay. Overall, human NoV and TV are highly resistant to ionizing radiation and therefore the technology may not be suitable to eliminate viruses in fresh produce at the currently approved levels. In addition, the PGM-MB binding assay is an improved method to detect viral infectivity compared to direct RT-qPCR.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH 43210, United States.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: DiCaprio
authors.affiliation: College of Applied Engineering Sustainability and Technology, Kent State Universtiy, Kent, OH 44242, United States.
authors.forename: Nuttapong
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Phantkankum
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH 43210, United States.
authors.forename: Doug
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Culbertson
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH 43210, United States.
authors.forename: Yuanmei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, United States.
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.affiliation: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Food Safety and Intervention Technologies Research Unit, James W. W. Baker Center, Delaware State University, Dover, DE 19901, United States.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kingsley
authors.affiliation: College of Applied Engineering Sustainability and Technology, Kent State Universtiy, Kent, OH 44242, United States.
authors.forename: Roberto M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Uribe
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH 43210, United States. Electronic address: li.926@osu.edu.
authors.forename: Jianrong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017250:Caliciviridae Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D031985:Fragaria / Q000821:virology*; D005720:Gamma Rays; D005752:Gastric Mucins / Q000378:metabolism; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D018189:Immunomagnetic Separation; D029322:Norovirus / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013552:Swine / Q000821:virology; D053585:Virus Attachment / Q000528:radiation effects*; D038301:Virus Inactivation / Q000528:radiation effects*; D053586:Virus Internalization / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D005752:Gastric Mucins
keywords: Electron beam; Food safety; Food-borne illness; Gamma irradiation; Human norovirus; Ionizing radiation; Strawberries; Tulane virus; Viral food-borne illness