Project description:Peracetic acid (PAA), a strong oxidizing agent, has been widely used as a disinfectant in food processing settings as it does not produce harmful chlorinated by-products. In the present study, the transcriptional response of Listeria monocytogenes to 2.5 ppm of PAA was assessed using RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq). Our analysis revealed 12 differentially expressed genes, of which 9 were up-regulated (ohrR, ohrA, rpsN, lmo0637, lmo1973, fur, lmo2492, zurM, and lmo1007), and 3 were down-regulated (argG, lmo0604, lmo2156) in PAA treated samples compared to the control samples. A non-coding small RNA (rli32) was also found to be down-regulated. In detail, the organic peroxide toxicity protection (OhrA-OhrR) system, the metal homeostasis genes fur and zurM, the SbrE-regulated lmo0636-lmo0637 operon and a carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (PTS) operon component were induced under exposure of L. monocytogenes to PAA. Hence, this study identified key elements involved in the primary response of L. monocytogenes to oxidative stress caused by PAA. The investigation of the molecular mechanism of PAA response in L. monocytogenes is of utmost importance for the food industry, as this response can be induced in food-processing environments, as a result of inadequate rinsing during the disinfection process, that lead to PAA residues at low concentrations.
Project description:Survival of the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes in acidic environments (e.g., stomach and low pH foods) is vital to its transmission. L. monocytogenes grows at temperatures as low as 2°C, and refrigerated, ready-to-eat foods have been sources of L. monocytogenes outbreaks. The purpose of this study was to determine whether growth at a low temperature (i.e., 7°C) affects the response of L. monocytogenes to sudden acid shock.
Project description:Listeria monocytogenes is a ubiquitous and psychrophilic foodborne pathogen commonly found in raw materials, ready to eat products and food environments. It was previously demonstrated that L. monocytogenes can grow faster at low temperature when unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) are present in its environment. In this study, we used comparative gene expression profiling of RNA-sequencing data to understand the impact of UFA on the behavior and cold adaptation of L. monocytogenes. We demonstrate that the incorporation of UFA into the membrane induces changes in the regulation of overall fatty acid biosynthesis, which prompts us to propose two hypotheses for UFA synthesis in L. monocytogenes. The general stress response is also highly impacted by the incorporation of UFA into the membrane at low temperature. In particular, we hypothesize that transcriptional regulation of cspB is not a temperature dependent mechanism, but could be related to a membrane fluidity stimulus. Furthermore, when UFA are incorporated into the membrane at low temperature, we observed overexpression of genes involved in flagella assembly. This study sheds light on the cold adaptation of L. monocytogenes in the presence of exogenous FA and on potential concerns for controlling these bacteria in food environments.
Project description:Listeria monocytogenes is the ubiquitous food-borne pathogen which causes listeriosis, a disease with a high mortality rate, mostly transmitted through contaminated ready-to-eat foods (EFSA, 2018). To better understand the systemic response of such microorganism exposed at three environmental factors (T, pH and NaCl), the proteome of a L. monocytogenes strain, which was isolated from a meat product (Coppa di testa) linked to a listeriosis outbreak occurred in Marche region (Italy) in 2016, was investigated in order to identify differences in its protein patterns.
