Use of X-ray irradiation for inactivation of Aspergillus in cannabis flower.

California cannabis regulations require testing for four pathogenic species of Aspergillus-A. niger, A. flavus, A. fumigatus and A. terreus in cannabis flower and cannabis inhalable products. These four pathogenic species of Aspergillus are important human pathogens and their presence in cannabis flower and cannabis products may pose a threat to human health. In this study, we examined the potential of X-ray irradiation for inactivation of cannabis flower contaminated with any of the four pathogenic species of Aspergillus. We determined that X-ray irradiation at a dose of 2.5 kGy is capable of rendering Aspergillus cells non-viable at low (102 spores/g dried flower), medium (103 spores/g dried flower) and high (104 spores/g dried flower) levels of inoculation. We also showed that X-ray treatment of cannabis flower did not significantly alter the cannabinoid or the terpene profiles of the flower samples. Therefore, X-ray irradiation may be a feasible method for Aspergillus decontamination of cannabis flower. More work is required to determine the consumer safety of irradiated cannabis flower and cannabis products.

Rapid deletion-based subtyping system for the Manila family of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The Manila family of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a group of clonal isolates seen throughout the Pacific Basin. Commonly used rapid molecular typing methods often leave large groups of Manila family isolates clustered together. Here we describe a simple deletion-based PCR method that improves the discrimination for Manila family isolates, with or without the use of mycobacterial interspersed repetitive-unit-variable-number tandem-repeat (MIRU-VNTR) classification, and that is both rapid and affordable. Twenty-eight Manila family isolates, classified by spoligotyping, were collected from around the Pacific Basin from 1995 to 2003 and were tested for known genomic deletions. Nine of 15 regions of difference tested were identified as potentially discriminatory, with 18 distinct patterns; of these 9, 5 were selected for optimal discrimination using 61 Manila family isolates collected from California in 2009. For this geographically limited sample, the single large cluster was reduced to 14 distinct patterns. When the isolates were tested by spoligotyping and MIRU-VNTR, the addition of deletion analysis increased the number of distinct patterns from 43 to 56. In summary, the two study groups, which together form a single group of 89 isolates by spoligotyping, were segregated into 17 subgroups by our deletion-based subtyping system.

Draft Whole-Genome Sequences of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica Serovars Enteritidis, Veneziana, and Salford, Isolated from Herbs.

Salmonellais a foodborne pathogen found in a wide variety of sources. Here, we report draft genome sequences of threeSalmonella entericasubsp.entericaserovars found in herbs: Enteritidis, Veneziana, and Salford, with the latter two being extremely rare in California.