Credit score: Worldwide Journal of Meals Microbiology (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111335
Researchers from the College of Maryland’s Division of Vitamin and Meals Science are shedding new mild on how a harmful food-borne pathogen—Cronobacter sakazakii—could have tailored to thrive in dried and powdered meals throughout the worldwide provide chain.
Their research, printed within the Worldwide Journal of Meals Microbiology, may remodel how we monitor, management, and stop contamination in vital meals merchandise like powdered toddler method.
C. sakazakii has made worldwide headlines in recent times following remembers of powdered toddler method and has been linked to life-threatening infections in untimely infants, the aged, and different weak populations. Though infections are uncommon, the results will be devastating—starting from meningitis to long-term developmental points.
To higher perceive the pathogen’s persistence and transmission, the researchers carried out the first-ever genomic meta-analysis of C. sakazakii micro organism strains from all around the world. Utilizing an AI language mannequin to standardize the information and machine studying to determine probably important genes, the crew demonstrated the potential for AI to unlock info held in huge quantities of inconsistent and in any other case difficult information.
“We’re seeing how certain accessory genes—those not essential to survival but beneficial under specific environmental conditions—could confer advantages that help Cronobacter sakazakii persist in food systems and possibly even resist sanitation protocols,” stated Assistant Professor Ryan Blaustein, the senior writer of the research.
People of a species carry a core set of genes which are shared throughout the species. However completely different strains or variants from completely different areas include extra accent genes distinctive to that pressure. Blaustein and his colleagues analyzed 748 entire genome sequences collected from meals, scientific, and environmental sources throughout North America, Europe, and Asia to determine probably the most full set of C. sakazakii genes—often known as a pangenome—so far.
One of many main improvements of the research was the mixing of synthetic intelligence, together with a Giant Language Mannequin (just like Chat GPT know-how) that standardized inconsistent metadata concerning the origins and sources of every pattern, making large-scale comparability doable.
“There’s so much data available, but that data is not always standardized,” Blaustein stated. “It’s not just the assembled DNA sequences, but the descriptor metadata. Everyone enters things differently, from the date and time to things like ‘powdered infant formula’ using a capital ‘P’ or lower case ‘p’ or just ‘powdered formula’ or even ‘PFI.’ We used the language model to recategorize everything that was already in the public database and assign it with a very high accuracy. That hadn’t been done in this setting before.”
As soon as they’d standardized the information, the crew used machine studying fashions—together with random forest classifiers—to determine core genes and paint a clearer image of how the accent genes diverse amongst samples from completely different areas, environments and situations. This helped them determine genetic signatures related to the place and the way the pattern was taken.
They discovered that samples from powdered meals (together with toddler method and powdered milk) relative to different varieties had bigger genomes, and a better frequency of genes concerned in DNA recombination, restore, and desiccation resistance, all of which may contribute to the bacterium’s survival in dry situations. As well as, there was a higher prevalence of genes related to greater virulence in strains that have been more likely to persist within the meals chain and trigger sickness.
The crew additionally discovered correlations between geographic areas and genes related to the formation of biofilms and resistance to heavy metals like copper, which exhibits up in some meals programs as a part of pesticides or as an important nutrient, however also can act as an antimicrobial at excessive ranges.
The presence of so many accent genes with probably adaptive traits could also be what permits C sakazakii to persist throughout quite a lot of ecological niches, together with hospitals, meals services, and dried meals merchandise. Understanding which genes assist C. sakazakii’s survival in quite a lot of environments may assist goal sanitation measures and information the event of safer processing protocols and applied sciences. The findings additionally increase vital concerns for the meals business, particularly producers of powdered meals.
Importantly, this research offers a pathway to determine genes with key traits of curiosity for quite a lot of pathogens. The mixing of AI fashions to scrub, standardize, and interpret genomic and epidemiological information may assist create quicker, extra correct molecular surveillance programs for rising pathogens.
This analysis underscores the necessity for worldwide cooperation in understanding how food-borne pathogens evolve and transfer by way of the meals system. With meals merchandise routinely crossing borders and oceans, monitoring genetic markers of virulence and resistance has by no means been extra vital.
Extra info:
Mairui Gao et al, Genomic range of Cronobacter sakazakii throughout the meals system to customers on the world scale, Worldwide Journal of Meals Microbiology (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111335
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Researchers discover genetic clues to toddler method pathogen’s world persistence (2025, July 10)
retrieved 10 July 2025
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