Quantification and discovery of PCR inhibitors found in food matrices commonly associated with foodborne viruses

Human norovirus is the leading cause of foodborne illness globally.Detection and quantification of norovirus commonly involves the use of reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR);however,the presence of inhibitory compounds in foods limit detection and accurate quantification.Although some studies have been done on PCR inhibitors from foods,many of them are over a decade old and do not investigate inhibition in contemporary one-step RT-qPCR-based detection chemistries.The purpose of this work was to quantify the degree of inhibition that occurs from inhibitory compounds found in produce(pectin)and mollusks(hemocyanin,glycogen)—foods commonly associated with norovirus outbreaks.RT-qPCR reactions containing different amounts of genomic bacteriophage MS2 RNA,a norovirus surrogate,were spiked with different concentrations of pectin(0.0625%–0.25%w/V),glycogen(1.25%–10%),and hemocyanin(0.0625%–0.25%).Past research has implicated glycogen as an inhibitory compound in oysters;however,even high levels of glycogen(10%)had no significant effect(P>0.05)on amplification.Conversely,both pectin and hemocyanin caused complete inhibition at 0.25%,with no significant inhibition observed at 0.0625%(P<0.05).Hemocyanin is abundant in the hemolymph of mollusks and previously untested as a PCR inhibitor.This work demonstrates that pectin and hemocyanin should be considered when testing produce and mollusk samples with PCR-based methods.

WSV 2019: The First Committee Meeting of the World Society for Virology

The World Society for Virology(WSV) was founded and incorporated as a nonprofit organization in the United States in 2017. WSV seeks to strengthen and support both virological research and virologists who conduct research of viruses that affect humans, other animals, plants, and other organisms. One of the objectives of WSV is to connect virologists worldwide and support collaboration. Fulfilling this objective, virologists from fourteen countries in North America,Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East met on 25–27 th August 2019 in Stockholm, Sweden at the Karolinska University Hospital for the first Committee Meeting of WSV. This meeting included compelling keynote and honorary speeches and a series of 18 scientific talks were given encompassing a diverse array of subjects within virology. Followed by the scientific session, a business session was held where multiple aspects and next steps of the society were discussed and charted out.

Microbiota,Viral Infection,and the Relationship to Human Diseases:An Area of Increasing Interest in the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

The current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)pandemic and its severe societal burden have underscored the importance of understanding eukaryotic viral infection and its relationship to both acute and secondary health effects.1,2 Many viruses,including SARS-CoV-2 in some instances,replicate in the enteric tract or have an indirect relationship with it.A growing area of focus has been to understand the relationship between the gut microbiota and viral infection,as some evidence suggests that certain bacteria or bacterial compositions can promote3–8 or inhibit7,9,10 viral pathogenesis.The gut microbiota has been implicated in affecting pathophysiology of local gut and many remote organs such as the lungs,liver,and brain.7 Although the interaction between viral replication and bacteria in the gut is an exciting growing area of focus,gaps still exist in understanding the effect enteric replication of some viruses has on the gut microbiome and if there are other health consequences of any of those changes.