Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41566339›Full record

ArticleMicrobiome2026

Microbiome and resistome successions in pig carcasses and fresh pork meat throughout slaughtering, processing and shelf-life.

Elena Fernández-Trapote, José F Cobo-Díaz, Márcia Oliveira, Alba Puente, Daniel Berdejo, Héctor Puente, Rebeca Cordero-García, Mercedes López, Miguel Prieto, Héctor Argüello and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Microbiome, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Occurrence and Antimicrobial Resistance ofFoods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Elena Fernández-TrapoteDepartment of Food Hygiene and Technology and Institute of Food Science and Technology, Universidad de León, 24071, León, Spain.
José F Cobo-DíazDepartment of Food Hygiene and Technology and Institute of Food Science and Technology, Universidad de León, 24071, León, Spain. jcobd@unileon.es.
Márcia OliveiraDepartment of Food Hygiene and Technology and Institute of Food Science and Technology, Universidad de León, 24071, León, Spain.
Alba PuenteDepartment of Food Hygiene and Technology and Institute of Food Science and Technology, Universidad de León, 24071, León, Spain.
Daniel BerdejoDepartment of Food Hygiene and Technology and Institute of Food Science and Technology, Universidad de León, 24071, León, Spain.
Héctor PuenteDepartment of Animal Health, Universidad de León, 24071, León, Spain.
Rebeca Cordero-GarcíaDepartment of Food Hygiene and Technology and Institute of Food Science and Technology, Universidad de León, 24071, León, Spain.
Mercedes LópezDepartment of Food Hygiene and Technology and Institute of Food Science and Technology, Universidad de León, 24071, León, Spain.
Miguel PrietoDepartment of Food Hygiene and Technology and Institute of Food Science and Technology, Universidad de León, 24071, León, Spain.
Héctor ArgüelloDepartment of Animal Health, Universidad de León, 24071, León, Spain.
Avelino Alvarez-OrdóñezDepartment of Food Hygiene and Technology and Institute of Food Science and Technology, Universidad de León, 24071, León, Spain.

Funding

European Commission under the European Union´s Horizon 2020 No 818368Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades PID2020-118813GB-I00Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Spain CNS2022-136066Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Spain FPU21/03421Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Spain PRE2021-098910
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSlaughterhouses and meat cutting plants represent potential hotspots for the spread and transfer of spoilage and pathogenic, including antimicrobial resistant, bacteria to meat and meat products. Here, we characterise the progression of the microbiome and resistome of two pork cuts (loin and sirloin) at different stages of processing, from the slaughter line to the end of shelf-life. To this end, we analysed samples from facility surfaces, carcasses, and meat cuts using whole metagenome sequencing.

resultsThe taxonomic and antimicrobial resistance gene (ARG) profiles of carcasses and meat cuts were significantly influenced by the point of sampling and the processing room. The facility surfaces were found to be the main source of some abundant genera, such as Anoxybacillus, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, and Brochothrix, in carcasses and meat cuts. A total of 1,291 metagenome-assembled genomes were reconstructed, corresponding to the most prevalent species identified in the taxonomic analysis at the read level. A reduction in bacterial and ARGs richness and diversity was observed for carcasses and meat cuts along the production chain, which suggests that processing procedures are effective in reducing bacterial and ARGs loads. Nonetheless, an increase in the ARGs load was observed at two sampling points: the carcass after evisceration and the sirloin at the end of its shelf-life (in this case linked to the increase of a single gene, tet(L)). The ARGs most frequently detected were those associated with resistance to tetracyclines, aminoglycosides, and lincosamides. Acinetobacter (in processing environments and carcass/meat samples) and Staphylococcus (in carcasses and meat) were identified as the main genera associated with the ARGs found.

conclusionsOverall, our results provide the most detailed metagenomics-based perspective on the microbial successions of pig carcasses and fresh meat cuts during slaughtering, processing, and commercialisation. The observations made suggest that selection pressures imposed by processing steps and contact with facility surfaces contribute to shaping the microbiome and resistome of the two pork products throughout their production line and shelf-life. Video Abstract.

Indexed as

BacteriaMicrobiotaPork MeatAbattoirsAcinetobacterAnimalsAnti-Bacterial AgentsBrochothrixDrug Resistance, BacterialFood HandlingFood MicrobiologyFood, ProcessedFood StorageMetagenomeMetagenomicsPseudomonasAnti-Bacterial AgentsAntimicrobial resistance genesCarcassMetagenomicsMicrobiomePork meatProcessing environmentsResistome

Identifiers

PMID41566339
PMCPMC12908266

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.