scholarly journals To Modulate Survival under Secondary Stress Conditions, Listeria monocytogenes 10403S Employs RsbX To Downregulate σBActivity in the Poststress Recovery Stage or Stationary Phase

2015 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 1126-1135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye Xia ◽  
Yongping Xin ◽  
Xiaoliang Li ◽  
Weihuan Fang
Keyword(s):  
Listeria Monocytogenes ◽  
Stationary Phase ◽  
Parent Strain ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Negative Regulator ◽  
Secondary Stress ◽  
Initial State ◽  
Recovery Stage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Primary Stress

ABSTRACTListeria monocytogenesis a saprophytic bacterium that thrives in diverse environments and causes listeriosis via ingestion of contaminated food. RsbX, a putative sigma B (σB) regulator, is thought to maintain the ready state in the absence of stress and reset the bacterium to the initial state in the poststress stage inBacillus subtilis. We wondered whether RsbX is functional inL. monocytogenesunder different stress scenarios. Genetic deletion and complementation of thersbXgene were combined with survival tests and transcriptional and translational analyses of σBexpression in response to stresses. We found that deletion ofrsbXincreased survival under secondary stress following recovery of growth after primary stress or following stationary-phase culturing. The ΔrsbXmutant had higher expression of σBthan its parent strain in the recovery stage following primary sodium stress and in stationary-phase cultures. Apparently, increased σBexpression had contributed to improved survival in the absence of RsbX. There were no significant differences in survival rates or σBexpression levels in response to primary stresses between thersbXmutant and its parent strain during the exponential phase. Therefore, we provide clear evidence that RsbX is a negative regulator ofL. monocytogenesσBduring the recovery period after a primary stress or in the stationary phase, thus affecting its survival under secondary stress.

scholarly journals Differential Patterns of Microbiota Recovery in Symbiotic and Aposymbiotic Corals following Antibiotic Disturbance

mSystems ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shavonna M. Bent ◽  
Carolyn A. Miller ◽  
Koty H. Sharp ◽  
Colleen M. Hansel ◽  
Amy Apprill
Keyword(s):  
Recovery Period ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Initial State ◽  
Microbial Composition ◽  
Coral Mucus ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Coral Microbiome ◽  
Algal Symbionts ◽  
Astrangia Poculata ◽  
Coral Health

ABSTRACT Microbial relationships are critical to coral health, and changes in microbiomes are often exhibited following environmental disturbance. However, the dynamics of coral-microbial composition and external factors that govern coral microbiome assembly and response to disturbance remain largely uncharacterized. Here, we investigated how antibiotic-induced disturbance affects the coral mucus microbiota in the facultatively symbiotic temperate coral Astrangia poculata, which occurs naturally with high (symbiotic) or low (aposymbiotic) densities of the endosymbiotic dinoflagellate Breviolum psygmophilum. We also explored how differences in the mucus microbiome of natural and disturbed A. poculata colonies affected levels of extracellular superoxide, a reactive oxygen species thought to have both beneficial and detrimental effects on coral health. Using a bacterial and archaeal small-subunit (SSU) rRNA gene sequencing approach, we found that antibiotic exposure significantly altered the composition of the mucus microbiota but that it did not influence superoxide levels, suggesting that superoxide production in A. poculata is not influenced by the mucus microbiota. In antibiotic-treated A. poculata exposed to ambient seawater, mucus microbiota recovered to its initial state within 2 weeks following exposure, and six bacterial taxa played a prominent role in this reassembly. Microbial composition among symbiotic colonies was more similar throughout the 2-week recovery period than that among aposymbiotic colonies, whose microbiota exhibited significantly more interindividual variability after antibiotic treatment and during recovery. This work suggests that the A. poculata mucus microbiome can rapidly reestablish itself and that the presence of B. psygmophilum, perhaps by supplying nutrients, photosynthate, or other signaling molecules, exerts influence on this process. IMPORTANCE Corals are animals whose health is often maintained by symbiotic microalgae and other microorganisms, yet they are highly susceptible to environmental-related disturbances. Here, we used a known disruptor, antibiotics, to understand how the coral mucus microbial community reassembles itself following disturbance. We show that the Astrangia poculata microbiome can recover from this disturbance and that individuals with algal symbionts reestablish their microbiomes in a more consistent manner compared to corals lacking symbionts. This work is important because it suggests that this coral may be able to recover its mucus microbiome following disturbance, it identifies specific microbes that may be important to reassembly, and it demonstrates that algal symbionts may play a previously undocumented role in microbial recovery and resilience to environmental change.

scholarly journals Listeria monocytogenes Shows Temperature-Dependent and -Independent Responses to Salt Stress, Including Responses That Induce Cross-Protection against Other Stresses

2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (8) ◽  
pp. 2602-2612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa M. Bergholz ◽  
Barbara Bowen ◽  
Martin Wiedmann ◽  
Kathryn J. Boor
Keyword(s):  
Salt Stress ◽  
Listeria Monocytogenes ◽  
Osmotic Stress ◽  
Parent Strain ◽  
Cross Protection ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Transcript Levels ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Short Term Adaptation

ABSTRACTThe food-borne pathogenListeria monocytogenesexperiences osmotic stress in many habitats, including foods and the gastrointestinal tract of the host. During transmission,L. monocytogenesis likely to experience osmotic stress at different temperatures and may adapt to osmotic stress in a temperature-dependent manner. To understand the impact of temperature on the responses this pathogen uses to adapt to osmotic stress, we assessed genome-wide changes in theL. monocytogenesH7858 transcriptome during short-term and long-term adaptation to salt stress at 7°C and 37°C. At both temperatures, the short-term response to salt stress included increased transcript levels ofsigBand SigB-regulated genes, as well asmrpABCDEFG, encoding a sodium/proton antiporter. This antiporter was found to play a role in adaptation to salt stress at both temperatures; ΔmrpABCDEFGhad a significantly longer lag phase than the parent strain in BHI plus 6% NaCl at 7°C and 37°C. The short-term adaptation to salt stress at 7°C included increased transcript levels of two genes encoding carboxypeptidases that modify peptidoglycan. These carboxypeptidases play a role in the short-term adaptation to salt stress only at 7°C, where the deletion mutants had significantly different lag phases than the parent strain. Changes in the transcriptome at both temperatures suggested that exposure to salt stress could provide cross-protection to other stresses, including peroxide stress. Short-term exposure to salt stress significantly increased H2O2resistance at both temperatures. These results provide information for the development of knowledge-based intervention methods against this pathogen, as well as provide insight into potential mechanisms of cross-protection.

scholarly journals Role of GlnR in Controlling Expression of Nitrogen Metabolism Genes in Listeria monocytogenes

2020 ◽  
Vol 202 (19) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajesh Biswas ◽  
Abraham L. Sonenshein ◽  
Boris R. Belitsky
Keyword(s):  
Listeria Monocytogenes ◽  
Nitrogen Metabolism ◽  
Transcriptional Regulator ◽  
Nitrogen Sources ◽  
Negative Regulator ◽  
Ammonium Uptake ◽  
Ammonium Transport ◽  
Growth Media ◽  
Content Type

ABSTRACT Listeria monocytogenes is a fastidious bacterial pathogen that can utilize only a limited number of nitrogen sources for growth. Both glutamine and ammonium are common nitrogen sources used in listerial defined growth media, but little is known about the regulation of their uptake or utilization. The functional role of L. monocytogenes GlnR, the transcriptional regulator of nitrogen metabolism genes in low-G+C Gram-positive bacteria, was determined using transcriptome sequencing and real-time reverse transcription-PCR experiments. The GlnR regulon included transcriptional units involved in ammonium transport (amtB glnK) and biosynthesis of glutamine (glnRA) and glutamate (gdhA) from ammonium. As in other bacteria, GlnR proved to be an autoregulatory repressor of the glnRA operon. Unexpectedly, GlnR was most active during growth with ammonium as the nitrogen source and less active in the glutamine medium, apparently because listerial cells perceive growth with glutamine as a nitrogen-limiting condition. Therefore, paradoxically, expression of the glnA gene, encoding glutamine synthetase, was highest in the glutamine medium. For the amtB glnK operon, GlnR served as both a negative regulator in the presence of ammonium and a positive regulator in the glutamine medium. The gdhA gene was subject to a third mode of regulation that apparently required an elevated level of GlnR for repression. Finally, activity of glutamate dehydrogenase encoded by the gdhA gene appeared to correlate inversely with expression of gltAB, the operon that encodes the other major glutamate-synthesizing enzyme, glutamate synthase. Both gdhA and amtB were also regulated, in a negative manner, by the global transcriptional regulator CodY. IMPORTANCE L. monocytogenes is a widespread foodborne pathogen. Nitrogen-containing compounds, such as the glutamate-containing tripeptide, glutathione, and glutamine, have been shown to be important for expression of L. monocytogenes virulence genes. In this work, we showed that a transcriptional regulator, GlnR, controls expression of critical listerial genes of nitrogen metabolism that are involved in ammonium uptake and biosynthesis of glutamine and glutamate. A different mode of GlnR-mediated regulation was found for each of these three pathways.

scholarly journals Phosphotransferase System-Dependent Extracellular Growth of Listeria monocytogenes Is Regulated by Alternative Sigma Factors σLand σH

2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (24) ◽  
pp. 7673-7682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siyun Wang ◽  
Renato H. Orsi ◽  
Silin Tang ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Martin Wiedmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Listeria Monocytogenes ◽  
Carbon Source ◽  
Parent Strain ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Maximum Growth ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Lag Phase ◽  
Phosphotransferase System ◽  
Phase Duration ◽  
Content Type

ABSTRACTAlternative sigma (σ) factors and phosphotransferase systems (PTSs) play pivotal roles in the environmental adaptation and virulence ofListeria monocytogenes. The growth of theL. monocytogenesparent strain 10403S and 15 isogenic alternative σ factor mutants was assessed in defined minimal medium (DM) with PTS-dependent or non-PTS-dependent carbon sources at 25°C or 37°C. Overall, our results suggested that the regulatory effect of alternative σ factors on the growth ofL. monocytogenesis dependent on the temperature and the carbon source. One-way analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) showed that the factor “strain” had a significant effect on the maximum growth rate (μmax), lag phase duration (λ), and maximum optical density (ODmax) in PTS-dependent carbon sources (P< 0.05) but not in a non-PTS-dependent carbon source. Also, the ODmaxwas not affected by strain for any of the three PTS-dependent carbon sources at 25°C but was affected by strain at 37°C. Monitoring by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) showed that transcript levels forlmo0027, a glucose-glucoside PTS permease (PTSGlc-1)-encoding gene, were higher in the absence of σL, and lower in the absence of σH, than in the parent strain. Our data thus indicate that σLnegatively regulateslmo0027and that the increased μmaxobserved for the ΔsigLstrain in DM with glucose may be associated with increased expression of PTSGlc-1 encoded bylmo0027. Our findings suggest that σHand σLmediate the PTS-dependent growth ofL. monocytogenesthrough complex transcriptional regulations and fine-tuning of the expression of specificptsgenes, includinglmo0027. Our findings also reveal a more important and complex role of alternative σ factors in the regulation of growth in different sugar sources than previously assumed.

scholarly journals Listeria monocytogenes Grown at 7°C Shows Reduced Acid Survival and an Altered Transcriptional Response to Acid Shock Compared to L. monocytogenes Grown at 37°C

2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (11) ◽  
pp. 3824-3836 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Ivy ◽  
M. Wiedmann ◽  
K. J. Boor
Keyword(s):  
Listeria Monocytogenes ◽  
Stationary Phase ◽  
Growth Phase ◽  
Transcriptional Response ◽  
Brain Heart Infusion ◽  
Gastric Fluid ◽  
Food Storage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Acid Shock ◽  
Temperature And Growth

ABSTRACTSurvival of the food-borne pathogenListeria monocytogenesin acidic environments (e.g., in the human stomach) is vital to its transmission. Refrigerated, ready-to-eat foods have been sources of listeriosis outbreaks. The purpose of this study was to determine whether growth at a low temperature (i.e., 7°C) affectsL. monocytogenessurvival or gene transcription after exposure to a simulated gastric environment (i.e., acid shock at 37°C).L. monocytogenescells grown at 7°C were less resistant to artificial gastric fluid (AGF) or acidified brain heart infusion broth (ABHI) than bacteria grown at higher temperatures (i.e., 30°C or 37°C). ForL. monocytogenesgrown at 7°C, stationary-phase cells were more resistant to ABHI than log-phase cells, indicating that both temperature and growth phase affect acid survival. Microarray transcriptomic analysis revealed that the number and functional categories of genes differentially expressed after acid shock differed according to both growth temperature and growth phase. The acid response ofL. monocytogenesgrown to log phase at 37°C involved stress-related transcriptional regulators (i.e., σB, σH, CtsR, and HrcA), some of which have been implicated in adaptation to the intracellular environment. In contrast, for bacteria grown at 7°C to stationary phase, acid exposure did not result in differential expression of the stress regulons examined. However, two large operons encoding bacteriophage-like proteins were induced, suggesting lysogenic prophage induction. The adaptive transcriptional response observed in 37°C-grown cells was largely absent in 7°C-grown cells, suggesting that temperatures commonly encountered during food storage and distribution affect the ability ofL. monocytogenesto survive gastric passage and ultimately cause disease.

scholarly journals Stationary-Phase Persisters to Ofloxacin Sustain DNA Damage and Require Repair Systems Only during Recovery

mBio ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine G. Völzing ◽  
Mark P. Brynildsen
Keyword(s):  
Dna Damage ◽  
Stationary Phase ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Transient State ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Chronic Infections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Antibiotic Target ◽  
Damage Repair ◽  
Repair Systems

ABSTRACTChronic infections are a serious health care problem, and bacterial persisters have been implicated in infection reoccurrence. Progress toward finding antipersister therapies has been slow, in part because of knowledge gaps regarding the physiology of these rare phenotypic variants. Evidence shows that growth status is important for survival, as nongrowing cultures can have 100-fold more persisters than growing populations. However, additional factors are clearly important, as persisters remain rare even in nongrowing populations. What features, beyond growth inhibition, allow persisters to survive antibiotic stress while the majority of their kin succumb to it remains an open question. To investigate this, we used stationary phase as a model nongrowing environment to studyEscherichia colipersistence to ofloxacin. Given that the prevailing model of persistence attributes survival to transient dormancy and antibiotic target inactivity, we anticipated that persisters would suffer less damage than their dying kin. However, using genetic mutants, flow cytometry, fluorescence-activated cell sorting, and persistence assays, we discovered that nongrowing ofloxacin persisters experience antibiotic-induced damage that is indistinguishable from that of nonpersisters. Consistent with this, we found that these persisters required DNA repair for survival and that repair machinery was unnecessary until the posttreatment recovery period (after ofloxacin removal). These findings suggest that persistence to ofloxacin is not engendered solely by reduced antibiotic target corruption, demonstrate that what happens following antibiotic stress can be critical to the persistence phenotype, and support the notion that inhibition of DNA damage repair systems could be an effective strategy to eliminate fluoroquinolone persisters.IMPORTANCEIn the absence of resistant mutants, infection reoccurrences can still occur because of persisters, rare bacterial cells that survive antibiotic treatments to repopulate infection sites. Persister survival is attributed to a transient state of dormancy in which a cell's growth and metabolism are significantly reduced and many essential processes are thought to be inactive. Thus, dormancy is believed to protect persisters from antibiotic-induced damage and death. In this work, we show that in nongrowing populations, persisters to ofloxacin experience the same level of antibiotic-induced damage as cells that succumb to the treatment and that their survival critically depends on repair of this damage after the conclusion of treatment. These findings reveal that persistence to ofloxacin is not engendered solely by reduced antibiotic target corruption and highlight that processes following antibiotic stress are important to survival. We hypothesize that effective antipersister therapies may be developed on the basis of this knowledge.

scholarly journals Loss of SigB in Listeria monocytogenes Strains EGD-e and 10403S Confers Hyperresistance to Hydrogen Peroxide in Stationary Phase under Aerobic Conditions

2016 ◽  
Vol 82 (15) ◽  
pp. 4584-4591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcia Boura ◽  
Ciara Keating ◽  
Kevin Royet ◽  
Ranju Paudyal ◽  
Beth O'Donoghue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Hydrogen Peroxide ◽  
Listeria Monocytogenes ◽  
Stationary Phase ◽  
Stress Resistance ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stress Genes ◽  
Reverse Transcription Pcr ◽  
Stress Gene

ABSTRACTSigB is the main stress gene regulator inListeria monocytogenesaffecting the expression of more than 150 genes and thus contributing to multiple-stress resistance. Despite its clear role in most stresses, its role in oxidative stress is uncertain, as results accompanying the loss ofsigBrange from hyperresistance to hypersensitivity. Previously, these differences have been attributed to strain variation. In this study, we show conclusively that unlike for all other stresses, loss ofsigBresults in hyperresistance to H2O2(more than 8 log CFU ml−1compared to the wild type) in aerobically grown stationary-phase cultures ofL. monocytogenesstrains 10403S and EGD-e. Furthermore, growth at 30°C resulted in higher resistance to oxidative stress than that at 37°C. Oxidative stress resistance seemed to be higher with higher levels of oxygen. Under anaerobic conditions, the loss of SigB in 10403S did not affect survival against H2O2, while in EGD-e, it resulted in a sensitive phenotype. During exponential phase, minor differences occurred, and this result was expected due to the absence ofsigBtranscription. Catalase tests were performed under all conditions, and stronger catalase results corresponded well with a higher survival rate, underpinning the important role of catalase in this phenotype. Furthermore, we assessed the catalase activity in protein lysates, which corresponded with the catalase tests and survival. In addition, reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) showed no differences in transcription between the wild type and the ΔsigBmutant in various oxidative stress genes. Further investigation of the molecular mechanism behind this phenotype and its possible consequences for the overall phenotype ofL. monocytogenesare under way.IMPORTANCESigB is the most important stress gene regulator inL. monocytogenesand other Gram-positive bacteria. Its increased expression during stationary phase results in resistance to multiple stresses. However, despite its important role in general stress resistance, its expression is detrimental for the cell in the presence of oxidative stress, as it promotes hypersensitivity against hydrogen peroxide. This peculiar phenotype is an important element of the physiology ofL. monocytogenes, and it might help us explain the behavior of this organism in environments where oxidative stress is present.

scholarly journals Survival of Bactericidal Antibiotic Treatment by a Persister Subpopulation of Listeria monocytogenes

2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (23) ◽  
pp. 7390-7397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gitte M. Knudsen ◽  
Yin Ng ◽  
Lone Gram
Keyword(s):  
Listeria Monocytogenes ◽  
Stationary Phase ◽  
Antibiotic Treatment ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Treatment Success ◽  
Stationary Phase Culture ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Bacterial Physiology ◽  
Treatment Regimens ◽  
Fermentable Carbohydrates

ABSTRACTListeria monocytogenescan cause the serious infection listeriosis, which despite antibiotic treatment has a high mortality. Understanding the response ofL. monocytogenesto antibiotic exposure is therefore important to ensure treatment success. Some bacteria survive antibiotic treatment by formation of persisters, which are a dormant antibiotic-tolerant subpopulation. The purpose of this study was to determine whetherL. monocytogenescan form persisters and how bacterial physiology affects the number of persisters in the population. A stationary-phase culture ofL. monocytogeneswas adjusted to 108CFU ml−1, and 103to 104CFU ml−1survived 72-h treatment with 100 μg of norfloxacin ml−1, indicating a persister subpopulation. This survival was not caused by antibiotic resistance as regrown persisters were as sensitive to norfloxacin as the parental strain. Higher numbers of persisters (105to 106) were surviving when older stationary phase or surface-associated cells were treated with 100 μg of norfloxacin ml−1. The number of persisters was similar when a ΔsigBmutant and the wild type were treated with norfloxacin, but the killing rate was higher in the ΔsigBmutant. Dormant norfloxacin persisters could be activated by the addition of fermentable carbohydrates and subsequently killed by gentamicin; however, a stable surviving subpopulation of 103CFU ml−1remained. Nitrofurantoin that has a growth-independent mode of action was effective against both growing and dormant cells, suggesting that eradication of persisters is possible. Our study addsL. monocytogenesto the list of bacterial species capable of surviving bactericidal antibiotics in a dormant stage, and this persister phenomenon should be borne in mind when developing treatment regimens.

scholarly journals Physiological and Transcriptional Characterization of Persistent and Nonpersistent Listeria monocytogenes Isolates

2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (18) ◽  
pp. 6559-6569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward M. Fox ◽  
Nola Leonard ◽  
Kieran Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Listeria Monocytogenes ◽  
Antimicrobial Agents ◽  
Cetylpyridinium Chloride ◽  
Phenotype Microarray ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Benzethonium Chloride ◽  
Transcriptomic Sequencing ◽  
Ammonium Compounds ◽  
Compare Gene Expression

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to characterize physiological differences between persistent and presumed nonpersistentListeria monocytogenesstrains isolated at processing facilities and to investigate the molecular basis for this by transcriptomic sequencing. Full metabolic profiles of two strains, one persistent and one nonpersistent, were initially screened using Biolog's Phenotype MicroArray (PM) technology. Based on these results, in which major differences from selected antimicrobial agents were detected, another persistent strain and two nonpersistent strains were characterized using two antimicrobial PMs. Resistance to quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) was shown to be higher among persistent strains. Growth of persistent and nonpersistent strains in various concentrations of the QACs benzethonium chloride (BZT) and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) was determined. Transcriptomic sequencing of a persistent and a presumed nonpersistent strain was performed to compare gene expression among these strains in the presence and absence of BZT. Two strains, designated “frequent persisters” because they were the most frequently isolated at the processing facility, showed overall higher resistance to QACs. Transcriptome analysis showed that BZT induced a complex peptidoglycan (PG) biosynthesis response, which may play a key role in BZT resistance. Comparison of persistent and nonpersistent strains indicated that transcription of many genes was upregulated among persistent strains. This included three gene operons:pdu,cob-cbi, andeut. These genes may play a role in the persistence ofL. monocytogenesoutside the human host.

scholarly journals Genome Sequencing Identifies Two Nearly Unchanged Strains of Persistent Listeria monocytogenes Isolated at Two Different Fish Processing Plants Sampled 6 Years Apart

2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (9) ◽  
pp. 2944-2951 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Holch ◽  
Kristen Webb ◽  
Oksana Lukjancenko ◽  
David Ussery ◽  
Benjamin M. Rosenthal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Listeria Monocytogenes ◽  
Food Processing ◽  
Random Amplified Polymorphic Dna ◽  
The United States ◽  
Genome Comparison ◽  
Physiological Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Human Pathogenic Bacterium ◽  
A Genome ◽  
Genome Analyses

ABSTRACTListeria monocytogenesis a food-borne human-pathogenic bacterium that can cause infections with a high mortality rate. It has a remarkable ability to persist in food processing facilities. Here we report the genome sequences for twoL. monocytogenesstrains (N53-1 and La111) that were isolated 6 years apart from two different Danish fish processers. Both strains are of serotype 1/2a and belong to a highly persistent DNA subtype (random amplified polymorphic DNA [RAPD] type 9). We demonstrate usingin silicoanalyses that both strains belong to the multilocus sequence typing (MLST) type ST121 that has been isolated as a persistent subtype in several European countries. The purpose of this study was to use genome analyses to identify genes or proteins that could contribute to persistence. In a genome comparison, the two persistent strains were extremely similar and collectively differed from the reference lineage II strain, EGD-e. Also, they differed markedly from a lineage I strain (F2365). On the proteome level, the two strains were almost identical, with a predicted protein homology of 99.94%, differing at only 2 proteins. No single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) differences were seen between the two strains; in contrast, N53-1 and La111 differed from the EGD-e reference strain by 3,942 and 3,471 SNPs, respectively. We included a persistentL. monocytogenesstrain from the United States (F6854) in our comparisons. Compared to nonpersistent strains, all three persistent strains were distinguished by two genome deletions: one, of 2,472 bp, typically contains the gene forinlF, and the other, of 3,017 bp, includes three genes potentially related to bacteriocin production and transport (lmo2774,lmo2775, and the 3′-terminal part oflmo2776). Further studies of highly persistent strains are required to determine if the absence of these genes promotes persistence. While the genome comparison did not point to a clear physiological explanation of the persistent phenotype, the remarkable similarity between the two strains indicates that subtypes with specific traits are selected for in the food processing environment and that particular genetic and physiological factors are responsible for the persistent phenotype.

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