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Biomolecules
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Recent Advance of Listeria
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Recent Advance of Listeria

A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2021) | Viewed by 11729

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Marta Lopez Cabo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CSIC - Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas (IIM), Department of Microbiology and Technology of Marine Products, Vigo, Spain
Interests: biofilm, food safety, sanitizers, food contact surfaces
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Listeria monocytogenes is still a challenge in food safety. The increasing trend of the incidence of L. monocytogenes in spite of the efforts of professionals to improve food control systems still indicates unsolved questions related to this microorganism. The compilation of recent scientific advances in the knowledge of this pathogenic bacterium in this Special Issue will help the scientific community to progress in working out the problem of listeriosis in food safety. We aim to gather articles focused on recent advances in the research of L. monocytogenes regarding ecology, resistance features to environment conditions including biofilm-related issues, and advances in virulence and infectivity.

Dr. Marta Lopez Cabo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomolecules is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Listeria monocytogenes
  • biofilm
  • ecology
  • resistance
  • virulence and infectivity

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 1344 KiB  
Article
Unravelling the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Protective Effect of Lactate on the High-Pressure Resistance of Listeria monocytogenes
by Cristina Serra-Castelló, Ilario Ferrocino, Anna Jofré, Luca Cocolin, Sara Bover-Cid and Kalliopi Rantsiou
Biomolecules 2021, 11(5), 677; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/biom11050677 - 30 Apr 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2108
Abstract
Formulations with lactate as an antimicrobial and high-pressure processing (HPP) as a lethal treatment are combined strategies used to control L. monocytogenes in cooked meat products. Previous studies have shown that when HPP is applied in products with lactate, the inactivation of L. [...] Read more.
Formulations with lactate as an antimicrobial and high-pressure processing (HPP) as a lethal treatment are combined strategies used to control L. monocytogenes in cooked meat products. Previous studies have shown that when HPP is applied in products with lactate, the inactivation of L. monocytogenes is lower than that without lactate. The purpose of the present work was to identify the molecular mechanisms underlying the piezo-protection effect of lactate. Two L. monocytogenes strains (CTC1034 and EGDe) were independently inoculated in a cooked ham model medium without and with 2.8% potassium lactate. Samples were pressurized at 400 MPa for 10 min at 10 °C. Samples were subjected to RNA extraction, and a shotgun transcriptome sequencing was performed. The short exposure of L. monocytogenes cells to lactate through its inoculation in a cooked ham model with lactate 1h before HPP promoted a shift in the pathogen’s central metabolism, favoring the metabolism of propanediol and ethanolamine together with the synthesis of the B12 cofactor. Moreover, the results suggest an activated methyl cycle that would promote modifications in membrane properties resulting in an enhanced resistance of the pathogen to HPP. This study provides insights on the mechanisms developed by L. monocytogenes in response to lactate and/or HPP and sheds light on the understanding of the piezo-protective effect of lactate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advance of Listeria)
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16 pages, 4237 KiB  
Article
Identification and Characterization of a Novel Genomic Island Harboring Cadmium and Arsenic Resistance Genes in Listeria welshimeri
by Sangmi Lee, Cameron Parsons, Yi Chen, Zahra Hanafy, Eric Brown and Sophia Kathariou
Biomolecules 2021, 11(4), 560; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/biom11040560 - 11 Apr 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2425
Abstract
Listeria monocytogenes, the bacterial foodborne pathogen responsible for the severe disease listeriosis, frequently exhibits heavy metal resistance. Concurrent resistance to cadmium and arsenic in L. monocytogenes is strongly associated with the 35-kb chromosomal island LGI2. LGI2 has been encountered repeatedly among L. monocytogenes [...] Read more.
Listeria monocytogenes, the bacterial foodborne pathogen responsible for the severe disease listeriosis, frequently exhibits heavy metal resistance. Concurrent resistance to cadmium and arsenic in L. monocytogenes is strongly associated with the 35-kb chromosomal island LGI2. LGI2 has been encountered repeatedly among L. monocytogenes serotype 4b hypervirulent clones but, surprisingly, not among non-pathogenic Listeria spp. Here we describe a novel LGI2 variant, LGI2-3, in two L. welshimeri strains from an urban aquatic environment. Whole genome sequence analysis revealed that the genomes were closely related except for one prophage region and confirmed a chromosomally integrated LGI2-3. It harbored a cystathionine beta-lyase gene previously only encountered in LGI2-1 of L. monocytogenes clonal complex 1 but was otherwise most closely related to LGI2. LGI2-3 harbored a novel cadAC cassette (cadA7C7) that, like LGI2′s cadA4C4, was associated with lower-level tolerance to cadmium (MIC 50 μg/mL) than other cadAC cassettes (MIC ≥ 140 μg/mL). CadA sequence analysis identified two amino acids that may be important for mediating different levels of cadmium tolerance. Our findings clearly demonstrated the potential for LGI2-like islands to be harbored by non-pathogenic Listeria spp. and generate intriguing hypotheses on the genetic diversity mediated by this island and its transfer among Listeria spp. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advance of Listeria)
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16 pages, 3458 KiB  
Article
In Vitro Preformed Biofilms of Bacillus safensis Inhibit the Adhesion and Subsequent Development of Listeria monocytogenes on Stainless-Steel Surfaces
by Anne-Sophie Hascoët, Carolina Ripolles-Avila, Brayan R. H. Cervantes-Huamán and José Juan Rodríguez-Jerez
Biomolecules 2021, 11(3), 475; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/biom11030475 - 22 Mar 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1980
Abstract
Listeria monocytogenes continues to be one of the most important public health challenges for the meat sector. Many attempts have been made to establish the most efficient cleaning and disinfection protocols, but there is still the need for the sector to develop plans [...] Read more.
Listeria monocytogenes continues to be one of the most important public health challenges for the meat sector. Many attempts have been made to establish the most efficient cleaning and disinfection protocols, but there is still the need for the sector to develop plans with different lines of action. In this regard, an interesting strategy could be based on the control of this type of foodborne pathogen through the resident microbiota naturally established on the surfaces. A potential inhibitor, Bacillus safensis, was found in a previous study that screened the interaction between the resident microbiota and L. monocytogenes in an Iberian pig processing plant. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of preformed biofilms of Bacillus safensis on the adhesion and implantation of 22 strains of L. monocytogenes. Mature preformed B. safensis biofilms can inhibit adhesion and the biofilm formation of multiple L. monocytogenes strains, eliminating the pathogen by a currently unidentified mechanism. Due to the non-enterotoxigenic properties of B. safensis, its presence on certain meat industry surfaces should be favored and it could represent a new way to fight against the persistence of L. monocytogenes in accordance with other bacterial inhibitors and hygiene operations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advance of Listeria)
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20 pages, 5366 KiB  
Article
Advanced Killing Potential of Thymol against a Time and Temperature Optimized Attached Listeria monocytogenes Population in Lettuce Broth
by Dimitra Kostoglou, Parthena Tsaklidou, Ioannis Iliadis, Nikoletta Garoufallidou, Georgia Skarmoutsou, Ioannis Koulouris and Efstathios Giaouris
Biomolecules 2021, 11(3), 397; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/biom11030397 - 08 Mar 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2168
Abstract
Fresh vegetables and salads are increasingly implicated in outbreaks of foodborne infections, such as those caused by Listeria monocytogenes, a dangerous pathogen that can attach to the surfaces of the equipment creating robust biofilms withstanding the killing action of disinfectants. In this [...] Read more.
Fresh vegetables and salads are increasingly implicated in outbreaks of foodborne infections, such as those caused by Listeria monocytogenes, a dangerous pathogen that can attach to the surfaces of the equipment creating robust biofilms withstanding the killing action of disinfectants. In this study, the antimicrobial efficiency of a natural plant terpenoid (thymol) was evaluated against a sessile population of a multi-strain L. monocytogenes cocktail developed on stainless steel surfaces incubated in lettuce broth, under optimized time and temperature conditions (54 h at 30.6 °C) as those were determined following response surface modeling, and in comparison, to that of an industrial disinfectant (benzalkonium chloride). Prior to disinfection, the minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) of each compound were determined against the planktonic cells of each strain. The results revealed the advanced killing potential of thymol, with a concentration of 625 ppm (= 4 × MBC) leading to almost undetectable viable bacteria (more than 4 logs reduction following a 15-min exposure). For the same degree of killing, benzalkonium chloride needed to be used at a concentration of at least 20 times more than its MBC (70 ppm). Discriminative repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR) also highlighted the strain variability in both biofilm formation and resistance. In sum, thymol was found to present an effective anti-listeria action under environmental conditions mimicking those encountered in the salad industry and deserves to be further explored to improve the safety of fresh produce. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advance of Listeria)
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18 pages, 2140 KiB  
Article
Properties of the Extracellular Polymeric Substance Layer from Minimally Grown Planktonic Cells of Listeria monocytogenes
by Ogueri Nwaiwu, Lawrence Wong, Mita Lad, Timothy Foster, William MacNaughtan and Catherine Rees
Biomolecules 2021, 11(2), 331; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/biom11020331 - 22 Feb 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2205
Abstract
The bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is a serious concern to food processing facilities because of its persistence. When liquid cultures of L. monocytogenes were prepared in defined media, it was noted that planktonic cells rapidly dropped out of suspension. Zeta potential and hydrophobicity assays [...] Read more.
The bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is a serious concern to food processing facilities because of its persistence. When liquid cultures of L. monocytogenes were prepared in defined media, it was noted that planktonic cells rapidly dropped out of suspension. Zeta potential and hydrophobicity assays found that the cells were more negatively charged (−22, −18, −10 mV in defined media D10, MCDB 202 and brain heart infusion [BHI] media, respectively) and were also more hydrophobic. A SEM analysis detected a capsular-like structure on the surface of cells grown in D10 media. A crude extract of the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) was found to contain cell-associated proteins. The proteins were removed with pronase treatment. The remaining non-proteinaceous component was not stained by Coomassie blue dye and a further chemical analysis of the EPS did not detect significant amounts of sugars, DNA, polyglutamic acid or any other specific amino acid. When the purified EPS was subjected to attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, the spectra obtained did not match the profile of any of the 12 reference compounds used. An x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the EPS was amorphous and a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis detected the presence of glycerol. An elemental energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) analysis showed traces of phosphorous as a major component. In conclusion, it is proposed that the non-proteinaceous component may be phospholipid in nature, possibly derived from the cell wall lipoteichoic acid. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advance of Listeria)
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