Question

Food-borne pathogens are most commonly identified by?

1) polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
2) standard culture techniques
3) pulsed-field gel electrophoresis
4) None of the choices are correct

Answer 1

Food-borne pathogens are most commonly identified by standard culture techniques, with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and advanced methods like pulsed-field gel electrophoresis also being important tools.

Step-by-step explanation:

Food-borne pathogens are most commonly identified by standard culture techniques, which involve a pre-enrichment culture of food samples, followed by plating the samples on selective and differential media. Observations of bacterial growth on these media and specific biochemical reactions aid in the identification of certain pathogens.

However, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is also a widely used method to amplify and detect specific DNA sequences from pathogens and can rapidly identify pathogens without culture. Moreover, advanced techniques such as pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and proteomic analysis involving high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry can also be used to identify food-borne pathogens.