Biotech Updates

Experts to Create Accessible Food Pathogen Genome Database

July 20, 2012

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the University of California-Davis, Agilent Technologies Inc., and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will work together to create a public database of 100,000 foodborne pathogen genomes that aims to easily identify bacteria which are responsible for foodborne outbreaks.

The database, called the 100k Genome Project, will allow researchers to develop tests that can identify the type of bacteria present in a sample within a matter of days or hour instead of the usual one week test duration from diagnosis to genetic analysis. It will be a free, public database and it is expected to be developed within a five-year period as the project will sequence the genetic code of approximately 100,000 important foodborne pathogens including Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli.

View the original article at http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm311661.htm.