Viable but Nonculturable Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica in Fresh Produce: Rapid Determination by Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Coupled with a Propidium Monoazide Treatment

Abstract

VBNC pathogenic bacteria pose a potential risk to the food industry because they do not multiply on routine microbiological media and thus can evade detection in conventional plating assays. Both E. coli O157:H7 and S. enterica have been reported to enter the VBNC state under a range of environmental stress conditions and to resuscitate under favorable conditions and are a potential cause of human infections. PMA-LAMP methods developed in this study provide a rapid, sensitive, and specific way to determine levels of VBNC E. coli O157:H7 and S. enterica in fresh produce, which potentially decreases the risks related to the consumption of fresh produce contaminated by enteric pathogens in this state. PMA-LAMP can be further applied in the field study to enhance our understanding of the fate of VBNC pathogens in the preharvest and postharvest stages of fresh produce.