OPTIMIZING THE OXFORD NANOPORE TECHNOLOGIES FLONGLE FLOW CELL FOR RAPID DETECTION OF FOODBORNE PATHOGENS IN RETAIL MEAT

The major goal of this project is to help develop a sequence-based rapid assay to simultaneously detect several foodborne pathogens if present in a retail meat sample. The development and validation of rapid detection assays using ONT sequencing will facilitate the rapid, cost-effective identification of foodborne pathogens without further culturing or serotyping. To achieve this major goal, this project proposal has one specific objective which is to develop, optimize, and evaluate ONT Flongle sequencing assays for the rapid detection of Campylobacter, Salmonella, Listeria, and STEC in retail meats. The long-term goal would be to eliminate the need for conventional culture methods and provide a rapid assay for detecting foodborne pathogens.