NARMS examines foodborne bacteria for genetic relatedness using PFGE and enters into which database?

• A. FDA's Genome Database
• B. USDA's VetNet
• C. CDC's PulseNet
• D. NCBI's GenBank

Answer: (C)

The concept being tested is how genetic relatedness in foodborne bacteria is tracked using DNA fingerprint data. PFGE provides DNA fingerprint patterns that reveal how closely related different isolates are. That fingerprint data is centralized in PulseNet, the CDC-run national database that collects PFGE patterns from labs nationwide to compare outbreaks and link cases across states. NARMS uses PFGE to assess relatedness and contributes those patterns to PulseNet so researchers can detect clusters and trace transmission more effectively. Other databases aren’t the standard repository for these PFGE fingerprints: GenBank is a general nucleotide sequence database, and VetNet is focused more on veterinary/public-health data, not the PFGE-based outbreak-tracking database used for human foodborne pathogens.