Soils@Hutton - Soils and pathogens

Soil can act both as a resevoir and a barrier preventing microorganisms from entering into water courses, with many factors including soil type, organism characteristics and environmental conditions influencing the survival and transport of microorganisms though the environment. Pathogenic microorganisms entering into this environment, from animal or plant hosts, present a potential risk to public, animal or plant health.

Work at the James Hutton Institute aims to understand the processes which affect the transmission and persistence of pathogens and to develop methods for their detection and tracking in the soil environment. A range of bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens are studied, including enteropathogens such as E.coli, Salmonella, Mycobacterium paratuberculosis; Listeria; Borrelia; Erwinia; potato mop-top virus; powdery scab; Phytophthora spp; Rhynchosporium.

We do this by using a combination of culture-based methods along with molecular based and genome technology. To find out more please contact Ian Toth.