The most important congenital genetic defects that occur in piglets are hernias (umbilical hernia and inguinal or scrotal hernias), cryptorchidism and splay legs, and to a lesser extent intersexuality, hermaphrodism and anal atresia. They affect on average 3% of the commercial pig populations worldwide. It is important to stress out that, besides the direct economic loss, these defects have a serious impact on animal welfare and health. Some of the defects cause direct piglet mortality, while others lead to culling of piglets showing the disorder. For most of these defects there are strong indications for a genetic component. In SwAn project, we propose to focus on the identification of genes underlying congenital / hereditary disorders in pigs. We propose (1) to enrich the collection of affected samples, (2) to use genome-wide association studies (GWA) with a SNP panel comprising 60 000 markers covering the entire genome at a density which is appropriate for population-based association studies, (3) to identify some of the causal mutations and genes of these congenital diseases and (4) to propose effective marker assisted selection (MAS) against genetic defects.

Based on the most recent data from FAO, food product loss/waste is estimated to be 12% of the food products and can reach 30% for highly perishable products such as meat or fish. An improved cold chain with a much longer shelf life could significantly reduce the losses and avoid carbon dioxide emissions associated with waste in production. Superchilling technology has this considerable potential to deliver an ultra-fresh product with a much longer shelf life than refrigerated food and better food quality and safety. The product temperature is kept just below its freezing point. The amount of ice must be precisely controlled at 30%-35% of ice content. Generally, low microbiological growth is observed. This is especially important for psychrophilic pathogens bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes. The SUPERSHIELD project aims to generate new information and to implement innovative concepts and techniques to address the specific challenges of superchilling technology. A particular focus will be on controlling the ice content all along the cold chain using sensors and adapted equipment. Another objective is an in-depth understanding of the product structure and safety evolution through the process and how it compares to chilled and frozen food. The potential of this technology to preserve food from Listeria monocytogenes growth will be especially investigated. Finally, impacts of superchilling will be assessed through food quality, energy and environmental criteria to provide to the stakeholders and the policy makers all the necessary information to identify the potential interest of this new technology.

The SUBLIM project responds to the societal demand for healthy and sustainable food. The expression of antimicrobial and heavy metal resistance genes associated to other biological and environmental factors contribute to the adaptation of Listeria monocytogenes, a foodborne pathogen, by providing advantages for its establishment on industrial surfaces. The aim of this project SUBLIM is to define biological and environmental indicators that could be targeted to qualify food-processing environments (surface) with regards to the risk of contamination with L. monocytogenes. These indicators could be specific microbial consortia, physico-chemical factors in the environment (e.g. biocide residues on surfaces, certain temperature or hygrometry levels...) and/or genetic determinants. By using metagenomic approaches, bacterial communities on food processing surfaces will be described and genes involved in antimicrobial and/or heavy metal resistance (resistome/mobilome), quorum sensing or biofilm formation will be highlighted. This project SUBLIM will enable to provide insights into the presence of L. monocytogenes related to the surrounding environment and microbiota in various high-risk food sectors involved in recent L. monocytogenes outbreaks. Many studies focused only on intrinsic molecular mechanisms to explain the establishment and long-term survival of certain L. monocytogenes clonal complexes but this phenomenon should be considered as the result of a complex combination of several factors including extrinsic ones rather than a single genetic or individual trait. Finally, the protocols and methods of detection/quantification of these indicators that will be developed in this project will be disseminated to a broad public (scientific community, students, professionals, and competent authorities) in different formats and media (website, journal articles, scientific publications, training, conferences...). The valorization of the results of the research will be beneficial to society and the economic world and constitutes a strong axis in this project through effective transfer of know-how, protocols and techniques developed in this project to the various stakeholders until the consumers. This dissemination of the SUBLIM results will allow the implementation of appropriate and efficient mitigation strategies to limit the establishment of L. monocytogenes in food processing plants.