Funding period: 2020-2024
Leads: Burton Blais and Catherine Carrillo
Total GRDI funding: $100,500
Genomics and whole genome sequencing (WGS) technology are poised to have an increasingly important role as routine analytical tools in the CFIA's Food Microbiology Laboratory. Our laboratory has been focusing on strategies for the integration of genomics in regulatory food testing, and as a result we have developed a number of bioinformatics tools supporting the detection and recovery of pathogenic bacteria, such as Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) from foods. This project builds on previous research by continuing to develop and apply genomics tools for the characterization of STEC and Shigella strains involved in outbreaks of food-borne illness. A key goal is to inform the customization of selective enrichment strategies that favour the recovery of outbreak strains from food samples during food safety investigations.
Publication
- Tapp, K, Deschênes, M, Cooper, A, Carrillo, C, Blais, B. 2023. Genomically Informed Custom Selective Enrichment of Shiga Toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) Outbreak Strains in Foods Using Antibiotics. Journal of Food Protection. 86 (3): 100052 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfp.2023.100052
Contact us
For additional information, please contact:
Genomics R&D Initiative
Email: info@grdi-irdg.collaboration.gc.ca