Mission Statement:

To work together with the U.S. poultry industry, regulatory, and public health agencies to determine the epidemiology of and develop innovative intervention technologies to prevent or diminish Salmonella, Campylobacter, Clostridia and other human enteropathogenic bacteria in and on poultry.

Research Projects:

Interventions and Methodologies to Reduce Human Food-Borne Bacterial Pathogens in Chickens

Poultry Microbiological Safety Research, Russell Research Center in Athens, GA 

Objectives:

The purpose of the Poultry Microbiological Safety Research Unit is to further reduce or eliminate bacterial pathogen contamination in poultry operations and the following objectives are to: 1) Assess the effectiveness and further development of bacteriocins (anti-bacterial peptides) and bacteriophage by in vitro bacterial growth inhibition in culture and in vivo experimentation via challenge in chickens. 2) Reduce bacterial populations in chicken litter by monitoring poultry houses for bacterial pathogens carried by chickens during use of intervention technologies. 3) Improve cultural methods for Campylobacter spp. in poultry in further support of FSIS needs, including the improvement of recovery. Use microarray expression analysis under various cultural conditions to identify nutrients necessary for optimal growth, colonization and culture of Campylobacter spp.

Molecular Characterization and Gastrointestinal Tract Ecology of Commensal Human Food-Borne Bacterial Pathogens in the Chicken

Poultry Microbiological Safety Research, Russell Research Center in Athens, GA

Objectives:

The purpose of the Poultry Microbiological Safety Research Unit is to further characterize food-borne bacterial pathogens in poultry and the following objectives are to: 1) Complete molecular characterization of the pathogens Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., and Clostridium perfringens from poultry utilizing repetitive extragenic palindromic (rep)-PCR and related methods. 2) Identify host and pathogen genes important to colonization by Campylobacter jejuni and Clostridium perfringens in poultry, and monitor host and pathogen gene expression by RNA and DNA microanalyses. 3) Quantitatively and qualitatively identify microbial populations associated with the chicken gastrointestinal tract, reproductive tract, and internal organs. Develop biophotonics models to use for real time in situ colonization investigations. Develop approaches for processing biofilm samples to allow quantitative measurement in situ.