Big Projects Targeting Tiny Pathogens

The traditional method for identifying foodborne pathogens involves sampling and time-intensive culturing. Over the past decade or so, advancements in DNA technology such as whole genome sequencing (WGS) have led to more rapid and precise results, and a number of large-scale projects are using it to identify and trace foodborne pathogens.

Sequencing the Whole Genome
The sequence of bases (A, C, G, and T) in a DNA molecule carries the information a cell needs to assemble protein and RNA molecules.…