Bacterial and plant factors that influence adhesion of enterohaemorrhagic E. coli and Salmonella enterica to salad leaves

到目前为止，对食源性病原体传播的研究主要集中在农场动物宿主上。虽然通过沙拉叶子传播肠道病原体的情况正在上升，但只有少数研究解决了人类肠道细菌病原体附着在植物上的分子机制。同样，很少有研究调查植物基因型之间在细菌粘附和/或存活方面的差异，也没有研究任何差异的遗传基础。在这个项目中，我们的目标是研究人类细菌病原体是如何附着在沙拉叶子上的（特别是生菜）。我们将确定细菌生长条件对有机体附着在叶子上的能力的影响。同样，我们将确定植物生长条件对细菌附着敏感性的影响。利用遗传方法，我们将确定哪些细菌基因与叶片附着有关，我们将利用重组自交系的生菜图谱群体来启动旨在了解植物对细菌粘附易感性的遗传基础的研究。我们还将确定沙门氏菌和大肠杆菌在不同生菜品系上的存活率和复制率。我们研究的最终目标是提供植物和肠菌层相互作用的基础知识，以便制定减少作物污染风险和提高食品安全的策略。

Until now, research into transmission of food-borne pathogens has largely focused on farm animal reservoirs. Although transmission of enteric pathogens via salad leaves is on the rise, only a few studies have addressed the molecular mechanisms used by human enteric bacterial pathogens to attach to plants. Likewise there have been few studies investigating variation between plant genotypes on bacterial adhesion and/or survival and those that have not addressed the genetic basis of any differences. In this project we aim to investigate how human bacterial pathogens attach to salad leaves (in particular lettuce). We will determine the effect of bacterial growth condition on the ability of the organism to attach to leaves. Similarly, we will determine the effect of plant growth conditions on susceptibility to bacterial attachment. Using genetic approaches, we will determine which bacterial genes are involved in leaf attachment and we will utilise a lettuce mapping population of recombinant inbred lines to initiate studies aimed at gaining an understanding of the genetic basis of a plant's susceptibility to bacterial adhesion. We will also determine survival and replication rates of Salmonella and E. coli on the different lettuce lines. The ultimate goal of our studies is to provide the underpinning knowledge of the interaction between the plant and enteric bacteria in the phyllopshere to allow the development of strategies to reduce the risk of crop contamination and to increase food safety.