Salmonella enterica in Soils Amended with Heat-Treated Poultry Pellets Survived Longer than Bacteria in Unamended Soils and More Readily Transferred to and Persisted on Spinach

• Published in: Applied and environmental microbiology Vol. 85; no. 10
• Main Authors: Shah, Manoj K, Bradshaw, Rhodel, Nyarko, Esmond, Handy, Eric T, East, Cheryl, Millner, Patricia D, Bergholz, Teresa M, Sharma, Manan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Society for Microbiology 15.05.2019
• Subjects: Agriculture - methods; Animals; Bacterial Proteins - genetics; Cell culture; Contamination; Fertilizers; Food Microbiology; Foodborne pathogens; Health risks; Heat treatment; Leaves; Pathogens; Pellets; Poultry; Salmonella; Salmonella enterica; Salmonella enterica - genetics; Salmonella enterica - physiology; Sigma Factor - genetics; Slow release fertilizers; Soil - chemistry; Soil amendment; Soil bacteria; Soil contamination; Soil Microbiology; Spinach; Spinacia; Spinacia oleracea - microbiology; Strains (organisms); Survival; Weight; PMA-qPCR; Salmonella; spinach; transfer; leafy greens; rpoS; survival; biological soil amendments; heat-treated poultry pellets; soil
• ISSN: 0099-2240; 1098-5336
• DOI: 10.1128/AEM.00334-19

Untreated biological soil amendments of animal origin (BSAAO) are commonly used as biological fertilizers but can harbor foodborne pathogens like , leading to potential transfer from soils to fruits and vegetables intended for human consumption. Heat-treated poultry pellets (HTPP) can provide produce growers with a slow-release fertilizer with a minimized risk of pathogen contamination. Little is known about the impact of HTPP-amended soil on the survival of The contributions of RpoS and formation of viable but nonculturable cells to survival in soils are also inadequately understood. We quantified the survival of subsp. serovar Newport wild-type (WT) and -deficient (Δ mutant) strains in HTPP-amended and unamended soil with or without spinach plants over 91 days using culture and quantitative PCR methods with propidium monoazide (PMA-qPCR). Simulated "splash" transfer of Newport from soil to spinach was evaluated at 35 and 63 days postinoculation (dpi). The Newport WT and Δ mutant reached the limit of detection, 1.0 log CFU/g (dry weight), in unamended soil after 35 days, whereas 2 to 4 log CFU/g (dry weight) was observed for both WT and Δ mutant strains at 91 dpi in HTPP-amended soil. Newport levels in soils determined by PMA-qPCR and plate count methods were similar (  > 0.05). HTPP-amended soils supported higher levels of Newport transfer to and survival on spinach leaves for longer periods of time than did unamended soils (  < 0.05). Newport introduced to HTPP-amended soils survived for longer periods and was more likely to transfer to and persist on spinach plants than was Newport introduced to unamended soils. Heat-treated poultry pellets (HTPP) often are used by fruit and vegetable growers as a slow-release fertilizer. However, contamination of soil on farms may occur through contaminated irrigation water or scat from wild animals. Here, we show that the presence of HTPP in soil led to increased Newport survival in soil and to greater likelihood of its transfer to and survival on spinach plants. There were no significant differences in survival durations of WT and Δ mutant isolates of Newport. The statistically similar populations recovered by plate count and estimated by PMA-qPCR for both strains in the amended and unamended soils in this study indicate that all viable populations of Newport in soils were culturable.