Dr. Franco Pagotto

Dr. Franco Pagotto

Adjunct Professor 

Degrees:

B.Sc. (Honours biology/biotechnology option) - 1991
University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario

M.Sc. (Food Microbiology) - 1994
Department of Food Science
University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario

Ph.D. (Microbiology and Immunology) - 2000
Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology
University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario

Contact info:

Co-Director, Listeriosis Reference Service
Bureau of Microbial Hazards
Health Products and Food Branch
P/L 2204E
Room E412
Health Canada
Sir F.G. Banting Research Centre
251 Sir Frederick Banting Driveway
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0K9

Phone: (613) 957 - 0895
Fax: (613) 941 - 0280
Email: Franco.Pagotto@hc-sc.gc.ca

 

Research Interests

A research scientist at Health Canada in the Bureau of Microbial Hazards, our laboratory is interested in various research activities mostly focus on the bacterial pathogens Listeria and Enterobacter. Some of the projects include the microbiological safety and control of fresh-cut produce, hazard identification and risk assessment of Listeria monocytogenes and Enterobacter sakazakii in foods, molecular typing and genomic characterization of foodborne bacterial pathogens and foodborne viruses, pathogenesis and virulence determinants of foodborne pathogens, molecular diagnostics using DNA microarray technology, and DNA chip technology for detection of genetically modified organisms and foods. I am also a co-director of the Listeriosis Reference Centre for Canada.

Select Publications:

  1. Pagotto F., L.-K. Ng, T. Aman, M. Brett, K.-H. Yeung, and J.R. Dillon.  2000.  Structural analysis of the family of penicillinase-producing plasmids of Neisseria gonorrhoeae based on DNA sequencing.  Plasmid 43: 24-34.
  2. Pagotto, F., Saliminia, H., Totten, P., and J.R. Dillon.  2000.  Development of stable shuttle vectors based on a unique origin of replication for Neisseria gonorhoeae, Haemophilus spp. and other bacteria.  Gene 244:13-19.
  3. Pagotto, F., and J.R. Dillon. 2001. Multiple origins and replication proteins influence the biological properties of β-lactamase producing plasmids from Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Journal of Bacteriology 183: 5472-5481.
  4. Corneau, N., Pagotto, F., and J.M. Farber.  2001.  DNA Microarrays: a high-throughput technology.  Canadian Meat Science Association, 3-7.
  5. Pagotto, F., Daley, E., Farber, J., and Warburton, D.  2001.  MFHPB-30: Isolation of Listeria monocytogenes from all food and environmental samples. Official methods for the microbiological analysis of foods.  Compendium of Analytical Methods, volume 2, Health Protection Branch. (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/res-rech/analy-meth/microbio/index_e.html). 
  6. Hill, S.A., Samuels, D.C., Neilsen, C., Knight, S.W., Pagotto, F., and J.R. Dillon. 2002.  Integration host factor interactions with Neisseria gene sequences: correlation between predicted binding sites and in vitro binding of Neisseria-derived IHF protein.  Molecular and Cellular Probes 16: 153-158.
  7. Pagotto, F., Corneau, N., Blais, B. and Phillippe L.M.  2002.  MFLP-78: Identification of presumptive positive Listeria monocytogenes from foods and environmental samples by the polymerase chain reaction.  Official methods for the microbiological analysis of foods.  Compendium of Analytical Methods, volume 3 Health Protection Branch. (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/res-rech/analy-meth/microbio/index_e.html).
  8. Warburton, D. Boville, A., Pagotto, F., Daley, E. and Chow, C. 2002.  MFLP-38: The detection of Listeria spp. in foods and environmental samples using Palcam broth.  Official methods for the microbiological analysis of foods.  Compendium of Analytical Methods, volume 3 Health Protection Branch. (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/res-rech/analy-meth/microbio/index_e.html).
  9. Pagotto, F., Daley, E. Farber, J.M. 2002. MFLP-74: Enumeration of Listeria monocytogenes in foods. Official methods for the microbiological analysis of foods.  Compendium of Analytical Methods, volume 3 Health Protection Branch. (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/res-rech/analy-meth/microbio/index_e.html).
  10. Warburton, D., Boville, A., and Pagotto, F. 2003.  MFHPB-07: The detection of Listeria spp. in foods and environmental samples using Palcam Broth. Compendium of Analytical Methods, volume 3 Health Protection Branch. (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/res-rech/analy-meth/microbio/index_e.html).
  11. Pagotto,F.J., Nazarowec White, M., Bidawid, S., and Farber, J.M. 2003.  Virulence properties of Enterbacter sakazakii: infectivity and enterotoxin production in vitro and in vivo. Journal of Food Protection 66: 370-375.
  12. Borucki., M.K., Kim, S.H., Call, D.R., Smole, S.C. and Pagotto, F. 2004. Selective discrimination of Listeria monocytogenes epidemic strains by a mixed-genome DNA microarray compared to discrimination by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, ribotyping, and multilocus sequence typing. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 42: 5270-5276.
  13. Pagotto, F., Ng, L.-K., Clark, C. and Farber, J. 2006. Canadian Listeriosis Reference Service. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease 3: 132-137.
  14. Leclair, D., Pagotto, F., Farber, J.M, Cadieux, B. and Austin, J.W. 2006. Comparison of DNA fingerprinting methods for use in investigation of type E botulism outbreaks in the Canadian Arctic. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 44: 1635-1644.
  15. J. Kirkwood, A. Ghetler, J. Sedman, D. Leclair, F. Pagotto, J.W. Austin and A. Ashraf. 2006. Differentiation of Group I and Group II strains of Clostridium botulinum by focal plane array fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Journal of Food Protection 69: 2377-2383.
  16. D'Aoust,  J.-Y., Pagotto F., Akhtar, M., Bussey, J., Cooper, C., McDonald, C., Meymandy, M., and Tyler, K. 2007. Evaluation of the BAX gel and fluorometric systems for the detection of foodborne Salmonella. Journal of Food Protection 70:835-840. 
  17. Lyautey, E., Lapen, D.R., Wilkes, G., McCleary, K., Pagotto, F., Tyler, K., Hartmann, A., Piveteau, P., Rieul, A., Robertson, W.J., Medeiros, D.T., Edge, T.A., Gannon, V., and Topp, E. 2007. Distribution and characteristics of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from surface waters of the South Nation River Watershed. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 73: 5401-5410.
Book Chapters:
  • Pagotto,  F. J. and J.M. Farber. 2001.  Listeriosis.  In B. Caballero, L. Trugo and P. Finglas (ed.), Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition, Academic Press, London, UK, pp. 3582-3588.
  • Austin, J.W. and F. Pagotto. 2001.  Detection of foodborne pathogens and their toxins in foods.  In B. Caballero, L. Trugo and P. Finglas (ed.), Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition, Academic Press, London, UK, pp. 3886-3892.
  • F. Pagotto, N. Corneau, and J.M. Farber. 2003.  Listeria monocytogenes. In H. Riemann and D.O. Cliver (eds.), Foodborne infections and intoxications, third edition. Academic Press, pp. 313-340.
  • F. Pagotto, N. Corneau, C. Scherf, P. Leopold, C. Clark, and J.M. Farber. 2005. Molecular typing and differentiation of foodborne bacterial pathogens.  In P.M. Fratamico, A.K. Bhunia, and S.L. Smith (ed.), Foodborne Pathogens: Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Caister Academic Press, pp. 51-75.
  • J.M. Farber, F. Pagotto and C. Scherf. Incidence and behaviour of Listeria monocytogenes in meat products. In E.T. Ryser and E.H. Marth (ed.), Listeria, Listeriosis, and Food Safety, Third Edition, 2007. CRC Press, pp. 503-570.
  • F.J. Pagotto, R.F. Lenati and J.M. Farber. 2007.  Enterobacter sakazakii. In M.P. Doyle and L.R. Beuchat (ed.), Food Microbiology: Fundamentals and Frontiers, 3rd edition, ASM Press, pp. 271-291.
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Last updated: 2010.09.20