| Autor: |
Ábrahám Á; National Laboratory of Virology, Szentágothai János Research Centre, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary., Islam MN; Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA., Gazdag Z; Institute of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Pécs, 7622 Pécs, Hungary., Khan SA; Department of Physiology Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chattogram 4225, Bangladesh., Chowdhury S; Department of Pathology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, One Health Institute, Chattogram 4202, Bangladesh., Kemenesi G; National Laboratory of Virology, Szentágothai János Research Centre, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary.; Institute of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Pécs, 7622 Pécs, Hungary., Akter S; Department of Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chattogram 4225, Bangladesh. |
| Abstrakt: |
The traditional practice of harvesting and processing raw date palm sap is not only culturally significant but also provides an essential nutritional source in South Asia. However, the potential for bacterial or viral contamination from animals and environmental sources during its collection remains a serious and insufficiently studied risk. Implementing improved food safety measures and collection techniques could mitigate the risk of these infections. Additionally, the adoption of advanced food analytical methods offers the potential to identify pathogens and uncover the natural bacterial diversity of these products. The advancement of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, particularly nanopore sequencing, offers a rapid and highly mobile solution. In this study, we employed nanopore sequencing for the bacterial metabarcoding of a set of raw date palm sap samples collected without protective coverage against animals in Bangladesh in 2021. We identified several bacterial species with importance in the natural fermentation of the product and demonstrated the feasibility of this NGS method in the surveillance of raw palm sap products. We revealed two fermentation directions dominated by either Leuconostoc species or Lactococcus species in these products at the first 6 h from harvest, along with opportunistic human pathogens in the background, represented with lower abundance. Plant pathogens, bacteria with the potential for opportunistic human infection and the sequences of the Exiguobacterium genus are also described, and their potential role is discussed. In this study, we demonstrate the potential of mobile laboratory solutions for food safety purposes in low-resource areas. |
