Beneficial bacteria can serve as food biopreservation agents. These bacteria have the potential to replace harmful and resistance-prone synthetic chemicals in agricultural fields, greenhouses, and food storage facilities. Serine Ramlawi (MSc graduate Chemistry/Food Science) and Sawsan Abusharkh (B.Sc. graduate Food Science) from the Research Laboratory of Prof. Tyler Avis, in collaboration with Prof. David McMullin, have published the discovery of a new antimicrobial cyclic tetrapeptide from the bacterium Arthrobacter psychrophenolicus. This bacterium is able to mitigate microbial spoilage of fruits and vegetables, thereby potentially reducing food loss and waste.
The paper can be read here (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14786419.2021.2018434). For more information on research in the Avis Lab and the McMullin Lab, see https://carleton.ca/avislab/ and https://carleton.ca/mcmullinlab/.