Jianming Xu, Nan Zhang, Zhiyuan Yao, Taoxiang Zhang, Jiajia Xing, Haizhen Wang, Zhiwen Jiang, Randy A. Dahlgren, Bin Ma
{"title":"Available phosphorus and opportunistic pathogens drive geographic variation in Escherichia coli O157:H7 survival in soils across eastern China","authors":"Jianming Xu, Nan Zhang, Zhiyuan Yao, Taoxiang Zhang, Jiajia Xing, Haizhen Wang, Zhiwen Jiang, Randy A. Dahlgren, Bin Ma","doi":"10.1038/s43016-025-01191-2","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The persistence of food-borne pathogens in soil can trigger disease outbreaks, highlighting the critical need to understand their survival patterns. Here we investigate the survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7, a notable food-borne pathogen, across 81 natural soils from eastern China using inoculation experiments. E. coli O157:H7 survival ranged from 2.0 days to 43.3 days in soils. The survival-time map revealed hotspots and geographical heterogeneity of E. coli O157:H7 survival across eastern China. Bioinformatics analysis and validation experiments identified available phosphorus as the major factor controlling E. coli O157:H7 survival, with higher available phosphorus content in soils extending their survival. Two opportunistic pathogens, Enterococcus faecium and Aerococcus viridans, facilitated E. coli O157:H7 survival by forming biofilm structures and cross-feeding, respectively. Climate factors showed mostly indirect correlations with E. coli O157:H7. These findings enhance our understanding of food-borne pathogen survival in soils and offer insights to inform agricultural practices for preventing and controlling outbreaks. Soil ecosystems are not only reservoirs of food-borne pathogens, but also transmitters through contaminated water and agricultural products. This study examines the survival of food-borne pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7 across 81 natural soils from eastern China, mapping geographic survival patterns and identifying key abiotic and biotic drivers.","PeriodicalId":94151,"journal":{"name":"Nature food","volume":"6 8","pages":"777-786"},"PeriodicalIF":21.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Nature food","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-025-01191-2","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The persistence of food-borne pathogens in soil can trigger disease outbreaks, highlighting the critical need to understand their survival patterns. Here we investigate the survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7, a notable food-borne pathogen, across 81 natural soils from eastern China using inoculation experiments. E. coli O157:H7 survival ranged from 2.0 days to 43.3 days in soils. The survival-time map revealed hotspots and geographical heterogeneity of E. coli O157:H7 survival across eastern China. Bioinformatics analysis and validation experiments identified available phosphorus as the major factor controlling E. coli O157:H7 survival, with higher available phosphorus content in soils extending their survival. Two opportunistic pathogens, Enterococcus faecium and Aerococcus viridans, facilitated E. coli O157:H7 survival by forming biofilm structures and cross-feeding, respectively. Climate factors showed mostly indirect correlations with E. coli O157:H7. These findings enhance our understanding of food-borne pathogen survival in soils and offer insights to inform agricultural practices for preventing and controlling outbreaks. Soil ecosystems are not only reservoirs of food-borne pathogens, but also transmitters through contaminated water and agricultural products. This study examines the survival of food-borne pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7 across 81 natural soils from eastern China, mapping geographic survival patterns and identifying key abiotic and biotic drivers.