Recent advances in CRISPR‐based systems for the detection of foodborne pathogens

Abstract

There has long been a need for more advanced forms of pathogen detection in the food industry. Though in its infancy, biosensing based on clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) has the potential to solve many problems that cannot be addressed using conventional methods. In this review, we briefly introduce and classify the various CRISPR/Cas protein effectors that have thus far been used in biosensors. We then assess the current state of CRISPR technology in food-safety contexts; describe how each Cas effector is utilized in foodborne-pathogen detection; and discuss the limitations of the current technology, as well as how it might usefully be applied in other areas of the food industry. We conclude that, if the limitations of existing CRISPR/Cas-based detection methods are overcome, they can be deployed on a wide scale and produce a range of positive food-safety outcomes.

CRISPR‐Cas‐based detection for food safety problems: Current status, challenges, and opportunities

“…Mass spectrometry and aptamer‐based biosensors have also been used as preliminary techniques for detection. The introduction of the CRISPR‐Cas system into allergen detection could bring allergen detection to a new stage (Shin et al., 2022).…”

“…Although Cas14a‐mediated nucleic acid cleavage is not limited by sequence, the specificity of its detection needs to be improved. In addition, the development of diverse variants of Cas proteins with different PAM sequences or limitless PAM is also on the way (Shin et al., 2022).…”

“…Up to now, almost all the published biosensors based on CRISPR‐Cas involve the pretreatment of the sample to facilitate the subsequent steps for food safety detection. The food matrix, such as proteins, lipids, polysaccharides, small molecules, and other ingredients, is inherently complex, which might serve as inhibitors for a developed bioanalytical assay (Shin et al., 2022). Also, food processing technology that transforms raw materials into food items via different physical and chemical processes would also bring some unpredicted influences on a given analytical method.…”

“…One challenge for CRISPR‐Cas‐based food safety detection is the dynamic ranges that need to comply with regulations in industry (Shin et al., 2022). Most CRISPR‐Cas‐based detection can only be applied in a certain measurement range, but various targets need an appropriate dynamic range.…”

“…Research on CRISPR‐Cas–based food safety detection is booming and is surging as a new wave, representing new trends in this area (Shin et al., 2022). Apart from a few recently published basic research work in this regard, encouraging news is that US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and NMPA (National Medical Products Administration) of China have both approved the CRISPR‐Cas–based detection assays/kits for detecting SARS‐CoV‐2 that is considered a biohazard in contaminated cold‐chain foods and their packaging.…”