Domestic refrigerators: An overlooked breeding ground of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogens
Domestic refrigerator is a widely used appliance to keep food fresh and retard food spoilage in household. However, our understanding of microbial health risk associated with food under such circumstance still remains very poor. Here, typical types of food (vegetable, fish, and pork) were kept in a...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Environment International |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022005748 |
| _version_ | 1811185488303751168 |
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| author | Wenfang Lin Fei Xu Hongqin Guo Li Cui |
| author_facet | Wenfang Lin Fei Xu Hongqin Guo Li Cui |
| author_sort | Wenfang Lin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Domestic refrigerator is a widely used appliance to keep food fresh and retard food spoilage in household. However, our understanding of microbial health risk associated with food under such circumstance still remains very poor. Here, typical types of food (vegetable, fish, and pork) were kept in a domestic refrigerator at 4 °C for 3–30 days. Temporal dynamics of antibiotic resistome, pathogens, bacterial and fungal communities during this period were investigated via high-throughput quantification and Illumina sequencing technologies. Results showed that a large number (21–134) of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) were detected across the three food types, including 10.06 % of high-risk ARGs classified by their risk ranks. Moreover, four bacterial pathogens (i.e., Bacillus cereus, Cronobacter spp., Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus) targeted by marker genes including the pathogen-specific genes or virulence factor genes, and some potential fungal pathogens (e.g., Fusarium, Candida, and Aspergillus) were detected, indicating the occurrence of microbial risk even at the normally regarded safe storage temperature. Among all food types, the total bacterial density and ARG abundances in fish rapidly increased after only 3 days, much faster than vegetable and pork after 10 days. In addition, fish samples contained the highest ARG and pathogen abundances, indicating its potentially higher health risk than other food types. Finally, the shifts of ARG pattern were mainly contributed by bacterial communities and MGEs. This study highlights that food preserved in refrigerator at 4 °C could still be an unneglected microbial risk, and raises awareness of improving food safety in domestic environment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T13:30:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a278573c0fd440808e8065c8edad9837 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0160-4120 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T13:30:11Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environment International |
| spelling | doaj.art-a278573c0fd440808e8065c8edad98372022-12-22T04:21:50ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202022-12-01170107647Domestic refrigerators: An overlooked breeding ground of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogensWenfang Lin0Fei Xu1Hongqin Guo2Li Cui3Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, ChinaKey Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, ChinaKey Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaKey Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Corresponding author.Domestic refrigerator is a widely used appliance to keep food fresh and retard food spoilage in household. However, our understanding of microbial health risk associated with food under such circumstance still remains very poor. Here, typical types of food (vegetable, fish, and pork) were kept in a domestic refrigerator at 4 °C for 3–30 days. Temporal dynamics of antibiotic resistome, pathogens, bacterial and fungal communities during this period were investigated via high-throughput quantification and Illumina sequencing technologies. Results showed that a large number (21–134) of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) were detected across the three food types, including 10.06 % of high-risk ARGs classified by their risk ranks. Moreover, four bacterial pathogens (i.e., Bacillus cereus, Cronobacter spp., Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus) targeted by marker genes including the pathogen-specific genes or virulence factor genes, and some potential fungal pathogens (e.g., Fusarium, Candida, and Aspergillus) were detected, indicating the occurrence of microbial risk even at the normally regarded safe storage temperature. Among all food types, the total bacterial density and ARG abundances in fish rapidly increased after only 3 days, much faster than vegetable and pork after 10 days. In addition, fish samples contained the highest ARG and pathogen abundances, indicating its potentially higher health risk than other food types. Finally, the shifts of ARG pattern were mainly contributed by bacterial communities and MGEs. This study highlights that food preserved in refrigerator at 4 °C could still be an unneglected microbial risk, and raises awareness of improving food safety in domestic environment.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022005748Cold storageFood safetyAntibiotic resistance genesPathogensHigh-throughput sequencingDomestic refrigerator |
| spellingShingle | Wenfang Lin Fei Xu Hongqin Guo Li Cui Domestic refrigerators: An overlooked breeding ground of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogens Environment International Cold storage Food safety Antibiotic resistance genes Pathogens High-throughput sequencing Domestic refrigerator |
| title | Domestic refrigerators: An overlooked breeding ground of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogens |
| title_full | Domestic refrigerators: An overlooked breeding ground of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogens |
| title_fullStr | Domestic refrigerators: An overlooked breeding ground of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogens |
| title_full_unstemmed | Domestic refrigerators: An overlooked breeding ground of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogens |
| title_short | Domestic refrigerators: An overlooked breeding ground of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogens |
| title_sort | domestic refrigerators an overlooked breeding ground of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogens |
| topic | Cold storage Food safety Antibiotic resistance genes Pathogens High-throughput sequencing Domestic refrigerator |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022005748 |
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