| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Salmonella </it>can reside in healthy animals without the manifestation of any adverse effects on the carrier. If raw products of animal origin are not handled properly during processing or cooked to a proper temperature during preparation, salmonellosis can occur. In this research, we developed bioluminescent <it>Salmonella </it>strains that can be used for real-time monitoring of the pathogen's growth on food products. To accomplish this, twelve <it>Salmonella </it>strains from the broiler production continuum were transformed with the broad host range plasmid pAK<it>lux</it>1, and a chicken skin attachment model was developed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>Salmonella </it>strains carrying pAK<it>lux</it>1 constitutively expressed the <it>luxCDABE </it>operon and were therefore detectable using bioluminescence. Strains were characterized in terms of bioluminescence properties and plasmid stability. To assess the usefulness of bioluminescent <it>Salmonella </it>strains in food safety studies, we developed an attachment model using chicken skin. The effect of washing on attachment of <it>Salmonella </it>strains to chicken skin was tested using bioluminescent strains, which revealed the attachment properties of each strain.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study demonstrated that bioluminescence is a sensitive and effective tool to detect <it>Salmonella </it>on food products in real-time. Bioluminescence imaging is a promising technology that can be utilized to evaluate new food safety measures for reducing <it>Salmonella </it>contamination on food products.</p>
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