Persistent Listeria monocytogenes strains isolated from mussel production facilities form more biofilm but are not linked to specific genetic markers

Nowak, Jessika, Cruz, Cristina D., Tempelaars, Marcel, Abee, Tjakko, van Vliet, Arnoud, Fletcher, Graham C., Hedderley, Duncan, Palmer, Jon and Flint, Steve (2017) Persistent Listeria monocytogenes strains isolated from mussel production facilities form more biofilm but are not linked to specific genetic markers International Journal of Food Microbiology, 256. pp. 45-53.

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Abstract

Contamination of mussels with the human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes occurs during processing in the factory, possibly from bacteria persisting in the factory's indoor and outdoor areas. In this study, a selection of persistent (n = 8) and sporadic (n = 8) L. monocytogenes isolates associated with mussel-processing premises in New Zealand were investigated for their phenotypic and genomic characteristics. To identify traits that favour or contribute to bacterial persistence, biofilm formation, heat resistance, motility and recovery from dry surfaces were compared between persistent and sporadic isolates. All isolates exhibited low biofilm formation at 20 °C, however, at 30 °C persistent isolates showed significantly higher biofilm formation after 48 h using cell enumeration and near significant difference using the crystal violet assay. All 16 isolates were motile at 20 °C and 30 °C and motility was fractionally higher for sporadic isolates, but no significant difference was observed. We found persistent isolates tend to exhibit greater recovery after incubation on dry surfaces compared to sporadic isolates. Two of the three most heat-resistant isolates were persistent, while four of five isolates lacking heat resistance were sporadic isolates. Comparison of genome sequences of persistent and sporadic isolates showed that there was no overall clustering of persistent or sporadic isolates, and that differences in prophages and plasmids were not associated with persistence. Our results suggest a link between persistence and biofilm formation, which is most likely multifactorial, combining subtle phenotypic and genotypic differences between isolates.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions :	Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences > School of Veterinary Medicine
Authors :	Name Email ORCID Nowak, Jessika Cruz, Cristina D. Tempelaars, Marcel Abee, Tjakko van Vliet, Arnoud a.vanvliet@surrey.ac.uk Fletcher, Graham C. Hedderley, Duncan Palmer, Jon Flint, Steve
Date :	1 September 2017
DOI :	10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2017.05.024
Copyright Disclaimer :	© 2017. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ . The full version of this text can be found at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2017.05.024
Uncontrolled Keywords :	L. monocytogenes; Persistence; Biofilm; Heat resistance
Depositing User :	Clive Harris
Date Deposited :	13 Jun 2017 08:38
Last Modified :	02 Sep 2018 02:08
URI:	http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/id/eprint/841349

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