August 12, 2010

Spanish researchers develop pathogen detector for seafood

A team of researchers at Spain's University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) are working on the development of rapid molecular methods that allow rapid detection and identification of pathogenic micro-organisms in seafood.

Working with experts from the Institute of Marine Research in Vigo, the University Complutense of Madrid and the National Research Council in Milan, the team are investigating seafood from both fisheries and aquaculture.

Project co-ordinator Professor Jorge Barros Velázquez said the techniques they are developing could also be applied in other sectors likes dairy foods or meat.

Researchers have prepared a database of bacteria that serve as a reference for the early detection of these foods. This is a "large collection" of food-borne microorganisms that are pathogenic or that modify the quality of food from the sea.

Velázquez explained that there are regions of the genome of these microorganisms that are specific, which allow researchers to distinguish species or strains of the same species. Gene-specific devices can detect each specific micro-organisms and hundreds of pathogens in the same short test, which he believes is vital for the industry.

He added that it is a miniture device that allows identification of the existence of any problematic microorganism present in the products of fisheries and aquaculture.