The methods text that you haven’t missed

View Large Image | Download PowerPoint SlideThe ability to reach for a single text that has compiled the most up-to-date molecular methods for identification of the most common food-borne pathogens would have a place of reverence in the library of most researchers studying these organisms. Food-Borne Pathogens – Methods and Protocols follows a long history of books offering to condense all the necessary ‘cutting edge and highly practical’ molecular methods available; however, few texts have accomplished this task and unfortunately Food-Borne Pathogens falls to the rank of mediocre, along with the majority of its peers.From a mere glimpse at the contents, one could become suspicious of the succinctness of this text as there are 11 chapters in the bacteria section, four focusing on PCR methods, and only three chapters in the virus section, despite the fact that viruses caused almost half of foodborne outbreaks in the USA over the past 14 years (CDC, Foodborne Outbreak Response and Surveillance Unit, Summary Statistics, 1990–2004; http://www.cdc.gov/foodborneoutbreaks/us_outb/fbo2004/summary04.htm). In addition, the contents reveal two chapters seemingly stuck on the end of the book on risk assessment and a review of surveillance networks. Both of these are tangentially related to food-borne pathogens but they stray far afield if the objective of the text is ‘molecular methods for the laboratory isolation and identification’ of these pathogens.The bacteria section, which comprises half of the book, is plagued with repetition that a compassionate editor could have condensed into a few, very useful tables. Virtually each group describing PCR uses at least half a page to list the details of cell lysis. Although cell lysis is crucial for successful PCR, a single table in an appendix could have given general gu idelines for Gram-positive and -negative bacteria, and any other tricks that researchers might have discovered for a particular bacterium in their own laboratory.Furthermore, the bacteria section has two chapters that each discusses methods for pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. This is surprising since the first chapter is intended to describe detection of Listeria sp. and uses Salmonella as a control organism, and the second chapter focuses solely on Salmonella. Given that the book's Editor wrote the second chapter, they could easily have appointed the authors of the first chapter to cover both Listeria and Salmonella, as well as the others listed in their introduction, which might have only lengthened one of their tables.The bacteria section is not alone in its malaise of repetition; two of the three chapters in the virus section echo one another on the subject of RT-PCR. Since both chapters are describing methods useful for groups of viruses (i.e. noroviruses and enteroviruses), combining these methods when appropriate and highlighting useful differences necessary for each group would have been elegant. Although authors for each chapter rarely interact with their colleagues writing other chapters, some correspondence or coordination would have facilitated a text that could have risen to its full potential.Food-Borne Pathogens promotes its inclusion of ‘tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls’; however, when authors include alternatives among their notes for the described protocols, they seldom opine under what circumstances to use the alternatives. An exception to this is the chapter that covers the detection of noroviruses. Although the Notes section stretches for five pages, and probably should have been integrated into the Methods section, it includes practical advice for virus isolation and the rationale for necessary steps in the methods. In addition, this chapter includes a single figure that compiles the most-used methods for virus isolation and extraction in food. One might have expected a similar figure included for groups of bacteria, such as Gram-negative or Gram-positive bacteria, or a flow chart for isolation methods from different food types for these bacterial groups.The virus section included methods that were probably less useful to the target audience. Whereas one chapter explained the technical and monetary limitations of cell culture, another chapter included virus isolation in cell culture, which seems out of step with the intention of the text to compile the most current molecular methods for identification of food-borne pathogens.To produce successfully a single text that describes the current molecular methods and protocols of food-borne pathogens is an arduous task. A text covering this topic in a concise and succinct way would be most appreciated by anyone interested in these topics; however, Food-Borne Pathogens misses the opportunity to be that text.