Conventional curing practices reduce generic Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. on dry bulb onions produced with contaminated irrigation water.

Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has emphasized microbial risks associated with irrigation water. Treasure Valley (eastern Oregon/western Idaho) has the highest yield of dry bulb onions in the country; however, their irrigation water is often non-compliant with current industry and proposed federal standards for fresh produce. Conventional curing practices may provide a mechanism to mitigate irrigation water quality to comply with FSMA regulations. Dry bulb onions were grown in Owyhee silt loam and Semiahmoo muck soils in greenhouses and irrigated with water containing a cocktail of rifampicin-resistant generic Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. (4.80 log CFU/ml). To mimic conventional practices, mature onions remained undisturbed in soil without irrigation for 12 days prior to being lifted and cured for 16 additional days. Surviving generic E. coli and Salmonella spp. were selectively enumerated on using standard plating (Hektoen Enteric Agar with rifampicin; HE + rif) or most probable number (lactose broth with rifampicin; HE + rif) methods. Generic E. coli and Salmonella spp. on onions decreased 0.19-0.26 log CFU/g·d during the initial 12 days of finishing. At lifting, generic E. coli and Salmonella spp. had been reduced to <1 CFU/g and persisted through the end of curing. This study demonstrates conventional curing practices as an effective mitigation strategy for dry bulb onions produced with water of poor microbiological quality.

Changes in cellular mRNA stability, splicing, and polyadenylation through HuR protein sequestration by a cytoplasmic RNA virus.

The impact of RNA viruses on the posttranscriptional regulation of cellular gene expression is unclear. Sindbis virus causes a dramatic relocalization of the cellular HuR protein from the nucleus to the cytoplasm in infected cells. This is to the result of the expression of large amounts of viral RNAs that contain high-affinity HuR binding sites in their 3' UTRs effectively serving as a sponge for the HuR protein. Sequestration of HuR by Sindbis virus is associated with destabilization of cellular mRNAs that normally bind HuR and rely on it to regulate their expression. Furthermore, significant changes can be observed in nuclear alternative polyadenylation and splicing events on cellular pre-mRNAs as a result of sequestration of HuR protein by the 3' UTR of transcripts of this cytoplasmic RNA virus. These studies suggest a molecular mechanism of virus-host interaction that probably has a significant impact on virus replication, cytopathology, and pathogenesis.