title: Conventional and molecular methods used in the detection and subtyping of Yersinia enterocolitica in food.
abstract: Yersinia enterocolitica is an important foodborne pathogen, but the prevalence in food is underestimated due to drawbacks in the detection methods. Problems arise from the low concentration of pathogenic strains present in food samples, similarities with other Enterobacteriaceae and Y. enterocolitica-like species and the heterogeneity of Y. enterocolitica as it comprises both pathogenic and non-pathogenic isolates. New rapid, cost-effective and more sensitive culture media and molecular techniques have been developed to overcome the drawbacks of conventional culture methods. Recent molecular subtyping methods have been applied to Y. enterocolitica strains to track infection sources and to investigate phylogenetic relationships between different Yersinia strains. Further application of modern subtyping tools such as WGS in a variety of bioserotypes, and comparison with other members of the genus will help to better understanding of the virulence determinants of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica, its mechanisms to cope in the host environments, and can contribute to the development of more specific detection and typing strategies.
authors.affiliation: Food Microbiology Unit, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina 45110, Greece. Electronic address: spetsios@cc.uoi.gr.
authors.forename: Stefanos
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Petsios
authors.affiliation: Department of Meat Inspection and Slaughterhouse Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Mustialankatu 1, P.O. Box 66 00014, Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: maria.fredriksson-ahomaa@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fredriksson-Ahomaa
authors.affiliation: Food Microbiology Unit, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina 45110, Greece.
authors.forename: Hercules
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sakkas
authors.affiliation: Food Microbiology Unit, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina 45110, Greece. Electronic address: cpapadop@cc.uoi.gr.
authors.forename: Chrissanthy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Papadopoulou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D015009:Yersinia Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D015008:Yersinia enterocolitica / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*
keywords: Cultural; Detection; Methods; Molecular; Subtyping; Yersinia enterocolitica