Advances in Detecting Viable/Dead Foodborne Microorganisms Using Diverse Functional Nucleic Acid-Based Molecular...

Area of Science:

• Food microbiology
• Molecular biology
• Biosensors

Background:

• Accurate detection of viable foodborne pathogens is crucial for food safety and public health.
• Traditional methods like plate counting are slow, and current molecular techniques struggle to differentiate viable from dead cells.
• Existing assays are inadequate for rapid, precise field detection of viable bacteria.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a systematic overview of molecular recognition strategies and functional nucleic acid (FNA)-based technologies for viable foodborne microorganism detection.
• To categorize biomarkers targeted by FNAs, including nucleic acids, surface structures, and metabolic activities.
• To examine the principles and evolution of various FNA tools for viability discrimination.

Main Methods:

• Review of literature on FNA-based detection technologies for viable foodborne pathogens.
• Categorization of FNA targets: nucleic acids, surface structures, and metabolic activities.
• Analysis of FNA components: primers, aptamers, DNAzymes, guide nucleic acids, and oligonucleotide probes.

Main Results:

• FNAs demonstrate high sensitivity, specificity, target diversity, and programmable integrability for viability detection.
• Biomarkers are categorized into nucleic acids, surface structures, and metabolic activities.
• Various FNA technologies show practical applications across the food supply chain.

Conclusions:

• FNAs present a promising alternative to conventional methods for rapid and precise detection of viable foodborne pathogens.
• Further research and development are needed to address remaining challenges and advance FNA applications.
• This review offers guidance for enhancing food safety and microbial risk management through FNA technologies.