Microbiology of Root Crops, Edible Corms, Tubers, Bulbs, and Rhizomes: An Endobacteriological Study

Jack R. Edelman; Yue J. Lin

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18

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Microbiology of Root Crops, Edible Corms, Tubers, Bulbs, and Rhizomes: An Endobacteriological Study

Jack R. Edelman, Yue J. Lin

Published in International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences (Volume 3, Issue 2)

Received: 31 December 2013 Published: 28 February 2014

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Abstract

A variety of root crops, corms, tubers, and rhizomes commonly eaten and available in public markets were tested for the presence and identification of bacteria in their inner flesh. Bacteria were grown on agar slants and identified by DNA sequence analysis. Among foods tested were various radishes, onions, shallots, leeks, yams, parsnips, turnips, carrots, potatoes, ginger, garlic, parsnips, beets, horse radish, kohl-rabi, and less well-known crops such as yucca/cassava, celery root/celeriac, jicama, taro, lotus, water chestnut, Chinese/Korean yam (nagaimo), edible burdock (golden gobo), batata, root parsley, and yautia (malanga). Examples of the bacterial genera identified were, among others, species of Arthrobacter, Pantoea, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Microbacterium, Stenotrophomonas, Rahnella, Rhodococcus, Paenibacillus, Oerskovia, Gordonia, and Leclercia. While these species are probably present in harmless numbers, their presence may indicate that the inner flesh of these crops should be studied more extensively. Crops that are boiled, fried, baked or otherwise cooked may obviously not be a health hazard, but some of these vegetables are eaten raw or only lightly cooked and may possibly merit further study for possible health implications. Tubers that were very proficient in producing new shoots, such as potato and the Chinese/Korean yam (nagaimo) were found to contain inner flesh free of bacteria and seemed to be resistant to rotting; this may imply that these tubers have antimicrobial properties.

Published in	International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences (Volume 3, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18
Page(s)	69-72
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Root Crops, Vegetables, Corms, Tubers, Bulbs, Rhizomes, Bacteria, Endobacteriology

References

[1]	Carlin, F. (2011) Origin of bacterial spores in contaminating foods, Food Microbiology 28:177-182.
[2]	Edelman, J.R. and Lin, Y.J. (2011). Microbiology of melons, cucumbers, and squash (Cucurbitaceae) and related fruits. Int’l. J. of Food Science, Technology, & Nutrition, 5: (No.1), 51-65.
[3]	Field, M.L., (1979). Fundamentals of Food Microbiology. AVI Publishing Co., Westport, Connecticut, U.S.A.
[4]	Holt, J.G., Krieg, N.R., Sneath, P.H.A., Staley, J.T., and Williams, S.T., (2000). In: Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, 9th Edition, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
[5]	Lopez-Velasco, G., Sbodio, A., Tomas-Callejas, A., Wei, P., Tan, K.H., and Suslow,T.V., (2012). Assessment of root uptake and systemic vine-transport of Salmonella enterica sv. Typhimurium by melon (Cucumis melo) during field production, Int’l. J. of Food Microbiology, 158:65-72.
[6]	Roberts, D., Hooper, W., and Greenwood, M., (1995). Practical Food Microbiology, Second Edition, Public Health Laboratory Service, London, England.

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APA Style

Jack R. Edelman, Yue J. Lin. (2014). Microbiology of Root Crops, Edible Corms, Tubers, Bulbs, and Rhizomes: An Endobacteriological Study. International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences, 3(2), 69-72. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18

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ACS Style

Jack R. Edelman; Yue J. Lin. Microbiology of Root Crops, Edible Corms, Tubers, Bulbs, and Rhizomes: An Endobacteriological Study. Int. J. Nutr. Food Sci. 2014, 3(2), 69-72. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18

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AMA Style

Jack R. Edelman, Yue J. Lin. Microbiology of Root Crops, Edible Corms, Tubers, Bulbs, and Rhizomes: An Endobacteriological Study. Int J Nutr Food Sci. 2014;3(2):69-72. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18

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@article{10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18,
  author = {Jack R. Edelman and Yue J. Lin},
  title = {Microbiology of Root Crops, Edible Corms, Tubers, Bulbs, and Rhizomes: An Endobacteriological Study},
  journal = {International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences},
  volume = {3},
  number = {2},
  pages = {69-72},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijnfs.20140302.18},
  abstract = {A variety of root crops, corms, tubers, and rhizomes commonly eaten and available in public markets were tested for the presence and identification of bacteria in their inner flesh. Bacteria were grown on agar slants and identified by DNA sequence analysis. Among foods tested were various radishes, onions, shallots, leeks, yams, parsnips, turnips, carrots, potatoes, ginger, garlic, parsnips, beets, horse radish, kohl-rabi, and less well-known crops such as yucca/cassava, celery root/celeriac, jicama, taro, lotus, water chestnut, Chinese/Korean yam (nagaimo), edible burdock (golden gobo), batata, root parsley, and yautia (malanga). Examples of the bacterial genera identified were, among others, species of Arthrobacter, Pantoea, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Microbacterium, Stenotrophomonas, Rahnella, Rhodococcus, Paenibacillus, Oerskovia, Gordonia, and Leclercia. While these species are probably present in harmless numbers, their presence may indicate that the inner flesh of these crops should be studied more extensively. Crops that are boiled, fried, baked or otherwise cooked may obviously not be a health hazard, but some of these vegetables are eaten raw or only lightly cooked and may possibly merit further study for possible health implications. Tubers that were very proficient in producing new shoots, such as potato and the Chinese/Korean yam (nagaimo) were found to contain inner flesh free of bacteria and seemed to be resistant to rotting; this may imply that these tubers have antimicrobial properties.},
 year = {2014}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Microbiology of Root Crops, Edible Corms, Tubers, Bulbs, and Rhizomes: An Endobacteriological Study
AU  - Jack R. Edelman
AU  - Yue J. Lin
Y1  - 2014/02/28
PY  - 2014
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18
T2  - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences
JF  - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences
JO  - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences
SP  - 69
EP  - 72
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2327-2716
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18
AB  - A variety of root crops, corms, tubers, and rhizomes commonly eaten and available in public markets were tested for the presence and identification of bacteria in their inner flesh. Bacteria were grown on agar slants and identified by DNA sequence analysis. Among foods tested were various radishes, onions, shallots, leeks, yams, parsnips, turnips, carrots, potatoes, ginger, garlic, parsnips, beets, horse radish, kohl-rabi, and less well-known crops such as yucca/cassava, celery root/celeriac, jicama, taro, lotus, water chestnut, Chinese/Korean yam (nagaimo), edible burdock (golden gobo), batata, root parsley, and yautia (malanga). Examples of the bacterial genera identified were, among others, species of Arthrobacter, Pantoea, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Microbacterium, Stenotrophomonas, Rahnella, Rhodococcus, Paenibacillus, Oerskovia, Gordonia, and Leclercia. While these species are probably present in harmless numbers, their presence may indicate that the inner flesh of these crops should be studied more extensively. Crops that are boiled, fried, baked or otherwise cooked may obviously not be a health hazard, but some of these vegetables are eaten raw or only lightly cooked and may possibly merit further study for possible health implications. Tubers that were very proficient in producing new shoots, such as potato and the Chinese/Korean yam (nagaimo) were found to contain inner flesh free of bacteria and seemed to be resistant to rotting; this may imply that these tubers have antimicrobial properties.
VL  - 3
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Jack R. Edelman

Department of Science, Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York, New York, U.S.A.
Yue J. Lin

Department of Biological Sciences, Saint John’s University, Jamaica, U.S.A.

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APA Style

Jack R. Edelman, Yue J. Lin. (2014). Microbiology of Root Crops, Edible Corms, Tubers, Bulbs, and Rhizomes: An Endobacteriological Study. International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences, 3(2), 69-72. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18

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ACS Style

Jack R. Edelman; Yue J. Lin. Microbiology of Root Crops, Edible Corms, Tubers, Bulbs, and Rhizomes: An Endobacteriological Study. Int. J. Nutr. Food Sci. 2014, 3(2), 69-72. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18

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AMA Style

Jack R. Edelman, Yue J. Lin. Microbiology of Root Crops, Edible Corms, Tubers, Bulbs, and Rhizomes: An Endobacteriological Study. Int J Nutr Food Sci. 2014;3(2):69-72. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18

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@article{10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18,
  author = {Jack R. Edelman and Yue J. Lin},
  title = {Microbiology of Root Crops, Edible Corms, Tubers, Bulbs, and Rhizomes: An Endobacteriological Study},
  journal = {International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences},
  volume = {3},
  number = {2},
  pages = {69-72},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijnfs.20140302.18},
  abstract = {A variety of root crops, corms, tubers, and rhizomes commonly eaten and available in public markets were tested for the presence and identification of bacteria in their inner flesh. Bacteria were grown on agar slants and identified by DNA sequence analysis. Among foods tested were various radishes, onions, shallots, leeks, yams, parsnips, turnips, carrots, potatoes, ginger, garlic, parsnips, beets, horse radish, kohl-rabi, and less well-known crops such as yucca/cassava, celery root/celeriac, jicama, taro, lotus, water chestnut, Chinese/Korean yam (nagaimo), edible burdock (golden gobo), batata, root parsley, and yautia (malanga). Examples of the bacterial genera identified were, among others, species of Arthrobacter, Pantoea, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Microbacterium, Stenotrophomonas, Rahnella, Rhodococcus, Paenibacillus, Oerskovia, Gordonia, and Leclercia. While these species are probably present in harmless numbers, their presence may indicate that the inner flesh of these crops should be studied more extensively. Crops that are boiled, fried, baked or otherwise cooked may obviously not be a health hazard, but some of these vegetables are eaten raw or only lightly cooked and may possibly merit further study for possible health implications. Tubers that were very proficient in producing new shoots, such as potato and the Chinese/Korean yam (nagaimo) were found to contain inner flesh free of bacteria and seemed to be resistant to rotting; this may imply that these tubers have antimicrobial properties.},
 year = {2014}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Microbiology of Root Crops, Edible Corms, Tubers, Bulbs, and Rhizomes: An Endobacteriological Study
AU  - Jack R. Edelman
AU  - Yue J. Lin
Y1  - 2014/02/28
PY  - 2014
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18
T2  - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences
JF  - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences
JO  - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences
SP  - 69
EP  - 72
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2327-2716
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.18
AB  - A variety of root crops, corms, tubers, and rhizomes commonly eaten and available in public markets were tested for the presence and identification of bacteria in their inner flesh. Bacteria were grown on agar slants and identified by DNA sequence analysis. Among foods tested were various radishes, onions, shallots, leeks, yams, parsnips, turnips, carrots, potatoes, ginger, garlic, parsnips, beets, horse radish, kohl-rabi, and less well-known crops such as yucca/cassava, celery root/celeriac, jicama, taro, lotus, water chestnut, Chinese/Korean yam (nagaimo), edible burdock (golden gobo), batata, root parsley, and yautia (malanga). Examples of the bacterial genera identified were, among others, species of Arthrobacter, Pantoea, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Microbacterium, Stenotrophomonas, Rahnella, Rhodococcus, Paenibacillus, Oerskovia, Gordonia, and Leclercia. While these species are probably present in harmless numbers, their presence may indicate that the inner flesh of these crops should be studied more extensively. Crops that are boiled, fried, baked or otherwise cooked may obviously not be a health hazard, but some of these vegetables are eaten raw or only lightly cooked and may possibly merit further study for possible health implications. Tubers that were very proficient in producing new shoots, such as potato and the Chinese/Korean yam (nagaimo) were found to contain inner flesh free of bacteria and seemed to be resistant to rotting; this may imply that these tubers have antimicrobial properties.
VL  - 3
IS  - 2
ER  -

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