Foodborne Pathogens: Detection, Resistance, Risk Assessment and Control

A Special Issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607) belonging to the section "Food Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2027 | Viewed by 748

Editors


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Guest Editor
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China
Interests: foodborne pathogens; rapid detection methods; persistence and biofilm control; food safety control strategies

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Guest Editor
College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Product Processing and Safety, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology, Research Center of Marine Food, Key Laboratory of Advanced Processing of Aquatic Products of Guangdong Higher Education Institution, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China
Interests: foodborne pathogens; obesity genes; heavy metals; cadmium; microbial removal; stress regulation; yeast; gene regulation; fatty acids; probiotics; bacteriophages
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, with the growing complexity of global food supply chains and rising public concern over food safety risks, foodborne pathogens—such as Vibrio, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Streptococcus, Campylobacter, enterohemorrhagic E. coli, Fungi and toxins—have become a central topic in public health, food science, and microbiology.

This Special Issue will explore advances in foodborne bacterial pathogens, highlighting their critical role in global public health and food supply security. It delves into rapid detection technologies, antimicrobial resistance mechanisms, controlling biofilm and toxin formation, and inactivation strategies during food processing, and features research on source tracking, quantitative risk assessment, and outbreak surveillance. Articles studying novel biocontrol agents, phage applications, or predictive modelling to mitigate contamination risks are also welcome. Ultimately, this Special Issue will focus on fostering more resilient and safer food systems.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • rapid detection techniques for foodborne pathogens;
  • mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance transmission;
  • controlling biofilm and toxin formation, inactivation strategies during food processing;
  • source tracking, predictive modelling, and quantitative microbial risk assessment;
  • novel natural antimicrobial materials or probiotic antagonism, such as probiotics and bacteriophages.

Prof. Dr. Moutong Chen
Prof. Dr. Zhijia Fang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • foodborne pathogens
  • biofilm formation
  • drug resistance
  • quantitative microbial risk assessment
  • natural antimicrobial materials

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

26 pages, 10563 KB  
Article
Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles, Resistance Genes, and Their Association with Bacteriophage Susceptibility Among Vibrio parahaemolyticus Isolates from Zhanjiang Shrimp Aquaculture Farms
by Lukman Iddrisu, Baochen Chai, Evodia Moses Mkulo, Salifu Ibrahim, Felix Danso, Muqadas Altaf, Muhammad Fahad Khan, Bingyu Zhang, Shumei Zhang, Jiesen Su, Yinyan Chen, Zhijia Fang and Jianzhi Ye
Microorganisms 2026, 14(9), 2004; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14092004 - 9 Sep 2026
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Abstract
Vibrio parahaemolyticus is an important foodborne and aquaculture-associated pathogen, and its increasing antimicrobial resistance threatens shrimp production, seafood safety, and public health. Although bacteriophages have emerged as a potential solution to the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance, whether antibiotic resistance is associated with [...] Read more.
Vibrio parahaemolyticus is an important foodborne and aquaculture-associated pathogen, and its increasing antimicrobial resistance threatens shrimp production, seafood safety, and public health. Although bacteriophages have emerged as a potential solution to the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance, whether antibiotic resistance is associated with phage tolerance remains unclear. This study characterized antimicrobial resistance profiles and resistance genes in Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolates from Zhanjiang shrimp aquaculture farms and evaluated their association with bacteriophage susceptibility. A total of 132 isolates were tested against 18 antibiotics, while molecular and phage-related analyses were performed on 132 isolates. High resistance was observed against kanamycin (95.5%), sulfamethoxazole (94.7%), cefazolin (78.8%), imipenem (78.8%), amoxicillin (70.5%), and ampicillin (65.2%). Multidrug resistance was detected in 131/132 isolates (99.24%), indicating an extensive resistance burden. PCR analysis showed high detection rates of aphA (100.00%), sul1 (99.24%), blaTEM (98.48%), blaOXA (73.48%), blaCTX-M (53.03%), qnrA (45.45%), tetA (37.88%), and tetB (21.21%). Phage response analysis showed that 70.45% and 68.18% of isolates were phage-resistant at 4 h and 5 h, respectively. Genes potentially associated with phage–host interactions were also detected, with luxS showing the highest frequency (85.61%). Association analysis revealed significant links between tetA, tetB, blaOXA, and bacteriophage responses. These findings suggest that antimicrobial resistance and reduced phage susceptibility can co-occur among V. parahaemolyticus isolates recovered from shrimp farms in Zhanjiang, highlighting the need for regional resistance surveillance and careful phage selection. Full article
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22 pages, 7034 KB  
Article
Effects of Nutritional Conditions and Exogenous N-Acyl-Homoserine Lactones on the Resuscitation of Sodium Hypochlorite-Induced Dormant Vibrio parahaemolyticus
by Shuangping Li, Jiantao Cao, Rundong Wang, Yijia Deng, Jinhua Ye, Chen Wang, Shumin Liu, Biaoshi Wang, Ahmed S. M. Saleh, Ravi Gooneratne, Xuepeng Li and Jianrong Li
Microorganisms 2026, 14(8), 1779; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14081779 - 12 Aug 2026
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Abstract
This study investigated the effects of nutritional conditions and exogenous N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) on the recovery of sodium hypochlorite (NaClO)-induced viable but non-culturable (VBNC) Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Exposure to 40 mg/L NaClO for 20 min resulted in the loss of culturability while viable cells [...] Read more.
This study investigated the effects of nutritional conditions and exogenous N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) on the recovery of sodium hypochlorite (NaClO)-induced viable but non-culturable (VBNC) Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Exposure to 40 mg/L NaClO for 20 min resulted in the loss of culturability while viable cells (approximately 1.19 × 102 cells/mL) remained detectable by SYTO9/PI staining, consistent with the operational criteria for the VBNC state. Five resuscitation systems were evaluated, including tryptic soy broth (TSB) alone, heat treatment, TSB supplemented with sodium pyruvate, TSB supplemented with Tween 80, and TSB supplemented with five AHLs (C4-HSL, C6-HSL, C8-HSL, OHHL, and 3-oxo-C14-HSL). Among the tested systems, the AHL-supplemented medium showed the highest recovery efficiency, characterized by a shortened lag phase, colony characteristics and cellular morphology approaching those of normal cells, increased intracellular ATP levels, and respiratory chain activity approaching normal levels. RT-qPCR analysis showed significantly increased expression of quorum sensing- and stress response-related genes, including opaR, atpA, soxR, and katG, in the AHL-treated group compared with the TSB group. These findings suggest that AHL supplementation is associated with enhanced recovery of VBNC V. parahaemolyticus and may facilitate metabolic reactivation during this process. Full article
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