By Angelo Bouselli
American Society for
Microbiology

Disease, spoilage and agroterrorism pose ongoing threats to the
U.S. food supply. But research in food and agricultural
microbiology is declining, says a report by the American Academy
for Microbiology.

“The constant spread and evolution of agricultural pathogens
provides a continually renewed source of challenges to
productivity and food safety,” said University of Georgia
microbiologist Michael Doyle, a co-author of the report.

“However, research support over the last few decades has been
lean and is, in fact, decreasing,” Doyle said. “Trouble
recruiting and maintaining graduate students is also harming
programs and will ultimately affect the field.”

Disease-causing microbes continually assault the animals and
crops that humans raise for food, he said. Two of the more famous
examples:

• An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease led to the slaughter of
  more than 6 million animals in England in 2001.
• Potato late blight caused the great potato famine in Ireland
  in the 19th century. A new variant of the blight emerged in the
  United States in the 1980s, causing serious losses and even
  bankruptcy for some potato growers.

Microorganisms continue to cause harm to the food supply beyond
the farm, Doyle said, causing spoilage and, in some cases
poisoning and disease. And now, the global movement of farm
products, industrial agricultural processes and the potential for
bioterrorism add new vulnerabilities.

Microorganisms can benefit the food supply, too, he said.

“Beneficial microbes cultivated in food can provide added value
far beyond delay or prevention of spoilage,” he said. “Deepening
understanding of the nature of such probiotic effects and
elucidating ways that these can be strengthened will allow
scientists to capitalize further on the beneficial effects of
these microbes.”

Doyle said reversing the decline in funding and recognizing the
value of agricultural research “requires fundamental changes, in
addition to an infusion of financial support.”

The report, “Research Opportunities in Food and Agriculture
Microbiology,” came out of an AAM colloquium in which 19
scientists with far-ranging expertise met to examine the future
of food and agriculture microbiology. It recommends research
priorities and identifies barriers to strong food and agriculture
research.

The AAM is the honorific leadership group of the American Society
for Microbiology. A full copy of the report is on the ASM Web
site at www.asm.org/Academy/index.asp?bid=2093.