Jasna Kovac

Lester Earl and Veronica Casida Career Development Professor of Food Safety; Assistant Professor of Food Science

Jasna Kovac

Research Summary

Integrating epidemiological, microbiological, molecular and omics methods to better understand microbial pathogenic potential, antimicrobial resistance, and epidemiology of foodborne pathogens.

Huck Graduate Students

Huck Affiliations

Links

Publication Tags

Bacillus Cereus Genes Genome Genomics Food Virulence Phylogeny Bacteriology Dairies Food Microbiology Food Safety Milk Nucleotides Animals Dairy Products Emetics Gene Anthrax Cytotoxicity Antibiotic Resistance Phenotype Fatty Acids New Species Farms Antibiotics

Most Recent Papers

DNA-based Assays

Jasna Kovac, L Naum, K Lampel, 2022, on p. 12

Exploring the relationship between gender and food safety risks in the dairy value chain in Ethiopia

Ariel V. Garsow, Marie R. Biondi, Barbara B. Kowalcyk, Jessie L. Vipham, Jasna Kovac, Kebede Amenu, Ashagrie Zewdu, Kathleen E. Colverson, 2022, International Dairy Journal

Kin discrimination promotes horizontal gene transfer between unrelated strains in Bacillus subtilis

Polonca Stefanic, Katarina Belcijan, Barbara Kraigher, Rok Kostanjšek, Joseph Nesme, Jonas Stenløkke Madsen, Jasna Kovac, Søren Johannes Sørensen, Michiel Vos, Ines Mandic-Mulec, 2021, Nature Communications

Development of a database and standardized approach for rpoB sequence-based subtyping and identification of aerobic spore-forming Bacillales.

A Gaballa, R Cheng, A Trmcic, Jasna Kovac, D Kent, N Martin, M Wiedmann, 2021, Journal of microbiological methods on p. 106350

Challenging the "gold standard" of colony-forming units - Validation of a multiplex real-time PCR for quantification of viable Campylobacter spp. in meat rinses.

K Stingl, J Heise, M Thieck, I Wulsten, E Pacholewicz, A Iwobi, J Govindaswamy, V Zeller-Péronnet, S Scheuring, H Luu, V Fridriksdottir, G Gölz, F Priller, I Gruntar, F Jorgensen, M Koene, Jasna Kovac, S Lick, E Répérant, A Rohlfing, A Zawilak-Pawlik, M Rossow, A Schlierf, K Frost, K Simon, S Uhlig, I Huber, 2021, International journal of food microbiology on p. 109417

Keeping up with the Bacillus cereus group: taxonomy through the genomics era and beyond.

Laura M. Carroll, Rachel A. Cheng, Martin Wiedmann, Jasna Kovac, 2021, Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition on p. 1-26

Evaluation of the Thermal Inactivation of a Salmonella Serotype Oranienburg Strain During Cocoa Roasting at Conditions Relevant to the Fine Chocolate Industry

Runan Yan, Gabriella Pinto, Rebecca Taylor-Roseman, Karen Cogan, Greg D’Alesandre, Jasna Kovac, 2021, Frontiers in Microbiology

Alicyclobacillus mali sp. Nov., alicyclobacillus suci sp. nov. and alicyclobacillus fructus sp. nov., thermoacidophilic sporeforming bacteria isolated from fruit beverages

Katerina Roth, Yadwinder Singh Rana, Devin Daeschel, Jasna Kovac, Randy Worobo, Abigail B. Snyder, 2021, International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology

Unique inducible filamentous motility identified in pathogenic bacillus cereus group species

Martha M. Liu, Shannon Coleman, Lauren Wilkinson, Maren L. Smith, Thomas Hoang, Naomi Niyah, Manjari Mukherjee, Steven Huynh, Craig T. Parker, Jasna Kovac, Robert E.W. Hancock, Erin C. Gaynor, 2020, ISME Journal on p. 2997-3010

Whole Genome Sequencing: The Impact on Foodborne Outbreak Investigations

Jasna Kovac, Edward G. Dudley, Erin M. Nawrocki, Runan Yan, Taejung Chung, 2020, on p. 147-159

Most-Cited Papers

Bacillus wiedmannii sp. nov., a psychrotolerant and cytotoxic bacillus cereus group species isolated from dairy foods and dairy environments

Rachel A. Miller, Sarah M. Beno, David J. Kent, Laura M. Carroll, Nicole H. Martin, Kathryn J. Boor, Jasna Kovac, 2016, International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology on p. 4744-4753

Antibiotic resistance modulation and modes of action of (-)-α-Pinene in Campylobacter jejuni

Jasna Kovač, Katarina Šimunović, Zuowei Wu, Anja Klančnik, Franz Bucar, Qijing Zhang, Sonja Smole Možina, 2015, PLoS One on p. e0122871

Characterization of egg laying hen and broiler fecal microbiota in poultry farms in Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia

Petra Videnska, Md Masudur Rahman, Marcela Faldynova, Vladimir Babak, Marta Elsheimer Matulova, Estella Prukner-Radovcic, Ivan Krizek, Sonja Smole-Mozina, Jasna Kovac, Ama Szmolka, Bela Nagy, Karel Sedlar, Darina Cejkova, Ivan Rychlik, 2014, PLoS One

Characterization of emetic and diarrheal Bacillus cereus strains from a 2016 foodborne outbreak using whole-genome sequencing: Addressing the microbiological, epidemiological, and bioinformatic challenges

Laura M. Carroll, Martin Wiedmann, Manjari Mukherjee, David C. Nicholas, Lisa A. Mingle, Nellie B. Dumas, Jocelyn A. Cole, Jasna Kovac, 2019, Frontiers in Microbiology

Proposal of a taxonomic nomenclature for the bacillus cereus group which reconciles genomic definitions of bacterial species with clinical and industrial phenotypes

Laura M. Carroll, Martin Wiedmann, Jasna Kovac, 2020, mBio

Rapid, high-throughput identification of anthrax-causing and emetic Bacillus cereus group genome assemblies via BTyper, a computational tool for virulencebased classification of Bacillus cereus group isolates by using nucleotide sequencing data

Laura M. Carroll, Jasna Kovac, Rachel A. Miller, Martin Wiedmann, 2017, Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Intraclade variability in toxin production and cytotoxicity of Bacillus cereus group type strains and dairy-associated isolates

Rachel A. Miller, Jiahui Jian, Sarah M. Beno, Martin Wiedmann, Jasna Kovac, 2018, Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Production of hemolysin BL by Bacillus cereus group isolates of dairy origin is associated with whole-genome phylogenetic clade

Jasna Kovac, Rachel A. Miller, Laura M. Carroll, David J. Kent, Jiahui Jian, Sarah M. Beno, Martin Wiedmann, 2016, BMC Genomics

Precision food safety

Jasna Kovac, Henk den Bakker, Laura M. Carroll, Martin Wiedmann, 2017, TrAC - Trends in Analytical Chemistry on p. 52-61

Virulence and antimicrobial resistance determinants of verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) and of multidrug-resistant E. coli from foods of animal origin illegally imported to the EU by flight passengers

B. Nagy, A. Szmolka, S. Smole Možina, J. Kovač, A. Strauss, S. Schlager, J. Beutlich, B. Appel, M. Lušicky, P. Aprikian, J. Pászti, I. Tóth, R. Kugler, M. Wagner, 2015, International Journal of Food Microbiology on p. 52-59

News Articles Featuring Jasna Kovac

Sep 24, 2020

Penn State Microbiome Center elects new executive committee

The Penn State Microbiome Center in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences recently elected six new members to join its executive committee. The new members, along with 11 others who remained on the committee, started their two-year term in July.

Full Article

Jun 03, 2020

Huck graduate students among NSF award recipients

Five graduate students in Huck programs or involved with Huck centers, advised by faculty members in the College of Agricultural Sciences, were recipients or honorable mentions of National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships.

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Aug 21, 2019

Foodborne pathogen sheltered by harmless bacteria that support biofilm formation

Pathogenic bacteria that stubbornly lurk in some apple-packing facilities may be sheltered and protected by harmless bacteria that are known for their ability to form biofilms, according to Penn State researchers, who suggest the discovery could lead to development of alternative foodborne-pathogen-control strategies.

Full Article

May 07, 2019

Institutes of Energy and the Environment announces seed grant recipients

Several Huck researchers are among the recipients of 2018-19 IEE seed grants.

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Apr 25, 2019

Food Scientist Kovac Receives Young Investigator Award

Jasna Kovac, assistant professor of food science in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, recently was named recipient of the Institut Merieux Young Investigator Award in Antimicrobial Resistance from the International Association for Food Protection.

Full Article