Tracking the DNA signatures of foodborne pathogens

US government agencies are now cooperating to track down the source of foodborne contamination using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of the contaminant bacteria. In March 2014, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identified a strain of Listeria responsible for a multistate food poisoning outbreak and linked it to a factory producing cheese products. The DNA evidence supported an FDA decision to suspend production at the facility. It was the first time that the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had worked together to connect environmental and food samples with the CDC’s samples derived from humans. In addition, the FDA is working with public health agencies worldwide to sequence disease-causing bacteria collected from foodborne outbreaks. Sequencing data will be available in a public database called GenomeTrakr, which will be used to track the spread of contaminated food and to contain outbreaks. More than 5,000 Salmonella, Listeria, and Escherichia coli genomes have been added to GenomeTrakr; more are being added from samples collected at food-production facilities during inspections. Future plans call for working with the World Health Organization to expand WGS to food-safety laboratories worldwide. Italian food-safety experts have already received WGS training, according to an FDA consumer update, and the agency reports that it is planning a trip to Ireland to work with its food-safety-agency counterpart. —Karyn Hede, News Editor

Cloud storage: not just for your music collection

Search engine giant Google has signed its first deal to store genomic data, after announcing in February 2014 that it had built an interface specifically for genomic datasets. The advocacy organization Autism Speaks is teaming with Google to store the data generated through its Ten Thousand Genomes Program, which aims to use genomic information to unravel the genomic contribution to autism spectrum disorders. The organization is working with researchers in China to collect and sequence DNA samples. After reaching 1,000 genomes, according to the organization’s scientific director, the group was quickly exhausting its data-storage capacity. Google’s cloud storage and analytical tools seem well suited to expand the organization’s storage and analytic capabilities. Autism Speaks has said that the project’s private data will be accessible to researchers worldwide, but the terms of the deal are not publicly available, raising interesting and potentially thorny questions about long-term accessibility. Now that Google has fully entered the business of managing genomic data, it may be time to look at the fine print in that end-user agreement. What if Google, or another company offering private data storage, decides to back out of the agreement in the future? If publicly funded research depends on con-tinued access to data controlled by a private, for-profit entity, who controls the data? The legal issues related to cloud computing are in flux and could affect genomic research well into the future. —Karyn Hede, News Editor

Genetics in Medicine | Mission Statement

Genetics in Medicine is a monthly journal committed to the timely publication of:

  • Original reports which enhance the knowledge and practice of medical genetics

  • Strategies and innovative approaches to the education of medical providers at all levels in the realm of genetics

As the official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), the journal will:

  • Provide a forum for discussion, debate and innovation concerning the changing and expanding role of medical genetics within the broader context of medicine

  • Fulfill our responsibility to the College membership through the publication of guidelines, policy statements and other information that enhances the practice and understanding of medical genetics

Finally, as genetics becomes increasingly important in the wider medical arena, we will be an accessible and authoritative resource for the dissemination of medical genetic knowledge to providers outside of the genetics community through appropriate reviews, discussions, recommendations and guidelines.