Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
4559957 | Food Control | 2010 | 5 Pages |
The environmental reservoir and mode of transmission of Helicobacter pylori is currently unknown due to difficulties in isolating H. pylori from non-human sources. The purpose of this study was to determine the ability of H. pylori to survive in a viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state when in association with spinach. H. pylori cells rapidly became non-detectable by plating, however mRNA transcripts were detected 6 days after the cells were introduced to the spinach. It was found that exposure to white light rapidly induced the VBNC state in H. pylori, suggesting sunlight may be a factor in loss of culturability of this pathogen. Our study indicates that spinach-associated H. pylori cells can remain viable and virulent despite their lack of culturability, which may help explain the lack of culturability from environmental sources.