Exploring Foodborne Pathogens: From Molecular to Safety Perspectives
A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Microbiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 777
Special Issue Editors
Interests: proteomics; foodborne pathogens; mechanisms of bacterial resistance; extracellular vesicles; cancerogenesis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: bacterial genomics; foodborne disease; molecular biology; prion protein
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Food safety is a global concern, and preventing health issues caused by poor nutrition or contaminated food is a matter of significant social, economic, and public health importance worldwide. Disease outbreaks caused by foodborne pathogens, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa, are still a problem in both developing countries and the industrialized Western world.
While numerous pathogenic traits of foodborne microorganisms have been recognized, the molecular mechanisms by which food matrices and environmental stimuli affect these pathogens remain poorly understood. This includes pathogen interactions with host cells, microbiota, and the immune system. Furthermore, stress responses are of particular importance to microorganisms because their habitats are subjected to continuous changes in temperature, osmotic pressure, and availability of nutrients. Pathogen survival and growth on food produce is influenced by a number of interdependent factors such as storage temperature, product type, processing methods, package atmosphere, and competition from the natural microflora present on food produce.
Over the last few decades, technologies for identifying foodborne pathogens have advanced rapidly, and the continuously growing number of infections caused by resistant microorganisms confirms the necessity to develop alternative methods for pathogen identification and their faster and more reliable detection. Modern methods now primarily focus on immunoassays, genome-wide approaches, biosensors, and mass spectrometry.
In this Special Issue, original research articles, reviews, and case studies that investigate the molecular characteristics of foodborne pathogens, including their genetic, biochemical, and virulence profiles, are highly welcome. Furthermore, contributions that explore innovative detection methods, advances in surveillance technologies, and effective strategies for pathogen prevention and control are also encouraged. Additionally, we welcome papers that discuss the integration of molecular findings into food safety practices, regulatory policies, and public health strategies.
Dr. Martina Srajer Gajdosik
Dr. Hongsheng Huang
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- food safety
- foodborne pathogens
- pathogen detection
- molecular mechanisms
- stress responses
- antimicrobial resistance
- virulence
- foodborne diseases
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