Dr. Xianqin Yang

Research Scientist

I am a research scientist, conducting work in the area of meat safety and preservation.

Current research and/or projects

Since 2007, Dr. Yang’s research has been primarily focusing on reduction of microbiological contamination of meat during the primary production and distribution process, i.e. from slaughtering of animals to steaks on the plate, including identification, tracking and control source of contamination, mechanisms of survival and persistence of E. coli in meat processing environments, effective intervention strategies for controlling enteric pathogens, and shelf-life extension of meat.

Current projects

1. Comparative genetic characterization of E. coli O157:H7 from pigs and cattle, feces and carcasses/Alberta Innovates/2019-2022

2. Exploring the potential of using Carnobacterium maltaromaticum A5 as a bioprotective agent in meat plants to improve the safety and shelf life of meat/Beef Cattle Research Council/2019-2020

3. If E. coli shed by cattle is becoming resistant to antimicrobial interventions in abattoirs, how best to raise the hurdles/Beef Cattle Research Council/ 2018-2022

4. Chlorine resistant Escherichia coli in beef processing facilities: selective pressure for heat resistant pathogens/Alberta Innovates/ 2019-2022.

5. Understanding biofilm community dynamics/Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada/2019-2022

6. Beef Quality Canada's National Beef Quality Audit at Retail and Processing/Beef Cluster/2021-2023

Key publications

Yang, Xianqin, Hui Wang, Scott Hrycauk, Devin B. Holman, and Tim C. Ells. 2023. "Microbial Dynamics in Mixed-Culture Biofilms of Salmonella Typhimurium and Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Bacteria Surviving Sanitation of Conveyor Belts of Meat Processing Plants" Microorganisms 11, no. 2: 421. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11020421
2023 - View publication details
Fang, Y., Stanford, K., Yang, X. (2022). Lactic Acid Resistance and Population Structure of Escherichia coli from Meat Processing Environment. Microbiology Spectrum, [online] 10(5), e0135222. http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01352-22
2022 - View publication details
Zhang, P., Ruan, E., Holman, D.B., Yang, X. (2022). Effects of a Carnobacterium maltaromaticum strain at natural contamination levels on the microbiota of vacuum-packaged beef steaks during chilled storage. Food Science and Technology - LWT, [online] 168 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2022.113944
2022 - View publication details
Nan, Y., Rodas-Gonzalez, A., Stanford, K., Nadon, C., Yang, X., McAllister, T., Narváez-Bravo, C. (2022). Formation and Transfer of Multi-Species Biofilms Containing E. coli O103:H2 on Food Contact Surfaces to Beef. Frontiers in Microbiology, [online] 13 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.863778
2022 - View publication details
Zhang, P., Yang, X. (2022). Genetic Characteristics of the Transmissible Locus of Stress Tolerance (tLST) and tLST Harboring Escherichia coli as Revealed by Large-Scale Genomic Analysis. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, [online] 88(7), http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.02185-21
2022 - View publication details
Fang, Y., Visvalingam, J., Zhang, P., Yang, X. (2022). Biofilm formation by Non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in monocultures and co-cultures with meat processing surface bacteria. Food Microbiology, [online] 102 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fm.2021.103902
2022 - View publication details
Alexander Gill, Sandeep Tamber and Xianqin Yang. 2022. Standard Methods for the Bacteriological Analysis of Meat in Encyclopedia of Meat Sciences
2022 - View publication details
Xu, Z.S., Yang, X., Gänzle, M.G. (2021). Resistance of biofilm- and pellicle-embedded strains of Escherichia coli encoding the transmissible locus of stress tolerance (tLST) to oxidative sanitation chemicals. International Journal of Food Microbiology, [online] 359 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2021.109425
2021 - View publication details
Zhang, P., Essendoubi, S., Keenliside, J., Reuter, T., Stanford, K., King, R., Lu, P., Yang, X. (2021). Genomic analysis of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 from cattle and pork-production related environments. npj Science of Food, [online] 5(1), http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41538-021-00097-0
2021 - View publication details
Stanford, K., Tran, F., Zhang, P., Yang, X. (2021). Biofilm-forming capacity of Escherichia coli isolated from cattle and beef packing plants: Relation to virulence attributes, stage of processing, antimicrobial interventions, and heat tolerance, 87(23), http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/AEM.01126-21
2021 - View publication details
Yang, X., Tran, F., Zhang, P., Wang, H. (2021). Genomic and phenotypic analysis of heat and sanitizer resistance in Escherichia coli from beef in relation to the locus of heat resistance, 87(23), http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.01574-21
2021 - View publication details
Zhang, P., Britton, A.P., Visser, K.A., Welke, C.A., Wassink, H., Prins, E., Yang, X., Martin-Visscher, L.A. (2021). Genome Sequences of Bacteriophages cd2, cd3, and cd4, which Specifically Target Carnobacterium divergens. Microbiology Resource Announcements, [online] 10(34), http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/MRA.00636-21
2021 - View publication details
Yang, X., Wang, H., Hrycauk, S., Klassen, M.D. (2021). Effects of Peroxyacetic Acid Spray and Storage Temperature on the Microbiota and Sensory Properties of Vacuum-Packed Subprimal Cuts of Meat, 87(11), 1-16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/AEM.03143-20
2021 - View publication details
Chen, Y.Y., Kommadath, A., Vahmani, P., Visvalingam, J., Dugan, M.E.R., Yang, X. (2021). Transcriptome Analysis of Listeria monocytogenes Exposed to Beef Fat Reveals Antimicrobial and Pathogenicity Attenuation Mechanisms. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, [online] 87(9), 1-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/AEM.03027-20
2021 - View publication details
Zhang, P., Essendoubi, S., Keenliside, J., Reuter, T., Stanford, K., King, R., Lu, P., Yang, X. (2021). Genome sequences of 104 Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolates from pigs, cattle, and pork production environments in Alberta, Canada. Microbiology Resource Announcements, [online] 10(4), http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/MRA.01320-20
2021 - View publication details
Peipei Zhang, Saida Essendoubi, Julia Keenliside, Tim Reuter, Kim Stanford, Robin King, Patricia Lu and Xianqin Yang. 2021. Phylogenetic and genomic analysis of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 from pigs, cattle and pig production-related environments in Alberta, Canada. Banff Pork Seminar, Banff, AB, Canada, January 05-07, 2021.
2021 - View publication details
Essendoubi, S., Yang, X., King, R., Keenliside, J., Bahamon, J., Diegel, J., Lu, P., Cassis, R., Gensler, G., Stashko, N., Rolheiser, D. 83(11), 1909-1917. http://dx.doi.org/10.4315/JFP-20-146
2020 - View publication details
Zhang, P., Tran, F., Stanford, K., Yang, X. (2020). Are antimicrobial interventions associated with heat-resistant Escherichia coli on meat?, 86(13), http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00512-20
2020 - View publication details
Yang, X., Wang, H., Badoni, M., Zawadski, S., McLeod, B., Holman, D., Uttaro, B. (2020). Effects of a novel three-step sous-vide cooking and subsequent chilled storage on the microbiota of beef steaks, 159 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2019.107938
2020 - View publication details
Visvalingam, J., Zhang, P., Ells, T.C., Yang, X. (2019). Dynamics of Biofilm Formation by Salmonella Typhimurium and Beef Processing Plant Bacteria in Mono- and Dual-Species Cultures, 78(2), 375-387. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00248-018-1304-z
2019 - View publication details