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Pathogens
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Listeria monocytogenes Pathogenesis
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Listeria monocytogenes Pathogenesis

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Bacterial Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 July 2021) | Viewed by 31025

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Janet R. Donaldson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Cell and Molecular Biology, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS 39406, USA
Interests: Listeria; pathogenesis; stress response; oxygen

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram positive, food borne bacterium that causes the disease listeriosis. Though it is a saphrophyte, it is able to cause infections ranging from mild gastroenteritis to meningitis, endocarditis, and miscarriage in humans and animals through the ingestion of contaminated food products. Listeria monocytogenes is found in many different environmental niches, including food-processing environments and the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and animals. To survive in these varied environments, L. monocytogenes has evolved several mechanisms to adapt to and resist stressors. For instance, one of the remarkable features of this pathogen is its ability to replicate intracellularly in a variety of eukaryotic cells. This bacterium is able to hijack the host’s actin and, in turn, use this as a means to move within cells and to neighboring cells. This allows the bacterium to avoid the host’s immune system, especially in a weakened state. Additionally, recent advances in the ability of L. monocytogenes to adequately sense and respond to these changing environments have also been reported. Much work has been done, especially in the last decade, to characterize the proteins that are involved in these stress response process and to determine how these mechanisms are regulated.

In this Special Issue, we welcome the submission of papers related to Listeria monocytogenes’s biology, ecology, or evolution, as well as papers related to the host’s response to infections.  The scope of the issue ranges from the characterization of L. monocytogenes in the context of various environmental niches to determine mechanisms of pathogenesis to the evolution of bacterial strains isolated from outbreaks. Our purpose is to highlight the uniqueness of this extraordinary bacterium in adapting to various stressors, including those found in the food-processing environment and human and animal hosts. This issue will focus on cutting edge advances in studies characterizing the pathogenesis of L. monocytogenes as well as its uniqueness that allows for it to be used as a potential vaccine vector. Please consider submitting your recent findings related to Listeria monocytogenes to be included in this Special Issue.

Dr. Janet R. Donaldson
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. Pathogens 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
  • disease
  • immune response
  • pathogenesis
  • ecology
  • evolution
  • vaccine
  • intracellular growth
  • stress response

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 364 KiB  
Article
Prevalence, Genetic Diversity and Factors Associated with Distribution of Listeria monocytogenes and Other Listeria spp. in Cattle Farms in Latvia
by Margarita Terentjeva, Žanete Šteingolde, Irēna Meistere, Didzis Elferts, Jeļena Avsejenko, Madara Streikiša, Silva Gradovska, Laura Alksne, Juris Ķibilds and Aivars Bērziņš
Pathogens 2021, 10(7), 851; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10070851 - 6 Jul 2021
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3274
Abstract
Listeria spp. is a diverse genus of Gram-positive bacteria commonly present in the environment while L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii are well known human and ruminant pathogens. The aim of the present study was to reveal the prevalence and genetic diversity of L. [...] Read more.
Listeria spp. is a diverse genus of Gram-positive bacteria commonly present in the environment while L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii are well known human and ruminant pathogens. The aim of the present study was to reveal the prevalence and genetic diversity of L. monocytogenes and other Listeria spp. and to identify the factors related to the abundance of pathogen at cattle farms. A total of 521 animal and environmental samples from 27 meat and dairy cattle farms were investigated and the genetic diversity of L. monocytogenes isolates was studied with WGS. The prevalence of Listeria was 58.9%, while of L. monocytogenes it was −11%. The highest prevalence of L. monocytogenes was found in the environment—soil samples near to manure storage (93%), mixed feed from the feeding trough and hay (29%), water samples from farms drinking trough (28%) and cattle feces (28%). Clonal complexes (CC) of CC37 (30%), CC11 (20%) and CC18 (17%) (all IIa serogroup) were predominant L. monocytogenes clones. CC18, CC37 and CC8 were isolated from case farms and CC37, CC11 and CC18 from farms without listeriosis history. Only one hypervirulent CC4 (1%) was isolated from the case farm. Sequence types (STs) were not associated with the isolation source, except for ST7, which was significantly associated with soil (p < 0.05). The contamination of soil, feeding tables and troughs with L. monocytogenes was associated with an increased prevalence of L. monocytogenes at farms. Our study indicates the importance of hygienic practice in the prevention of the dissemination of L. monocytogenes in the cattle farm environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Listeria monocytogenes Pathogenesis)
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12 pages, 328 KiB  
Article
A Nosocomial Outbreak of Invasive Listeriosis in An Italian Hospital: Epidemiological and Genomic Features
by Valeria Russini, Martina Spaziante, Tiziana Zottola, Anna Giovanna Fermani, Gina Di Giampietro, Giovanni Blanco, Paolo Fabietti, Riccardo Marrone, Roberta Parisella, Sergio Parrocchia, Teresa Bossù, Stefano Bilei and Maria Laura De Marchis
Pathogens 2021, 10(5), 591; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10050591 - 12 May 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3432
Abstract
Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is a widespread opportunistic pathogen that causes the listeriosis foodborne disease. This bacterium has become a common contaminant of handled food, and a relevant public health issue. Here we describe a nosocomial outbreak of listeriosis caused by [...] Read more.
Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is a widespread opportunistic pathogen that causes the listeriosis foodborne disease. This bacterium has become a common contaminant of handled food, and a relevant public health issue. Here we describe a nosocomial outbreak of listeriosis caused by an ST451 strain of L. monocytogenes involving three cancer and one immunocompromised patients hospitalized in different units from the same hospital during September and October 2020. The epidemiological investigation was conducted using traditional microbiological methodology combined with a whole genome sequencing approach. The source of contamination was identified in the kitchen hospital, where a meat slicer used to prepare patients’ meals was tested positive to the same sequence type (ST) of L. monocytogenes. This is the first report of an outbreak of listeriosis caused by ST451 in Italy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Listeria monocytogenes Pathogenesis)
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25 pages, 2904 KiB  
Article
Alternative σ Factors Regulate Overlapping as Well as Distinct Stress Response and Metabolic Functions in Listeria monocytogenes under Stationary Phase Stress Condition
by Renato H. Orsi, Soraya Chaturongakul, Haley F. Oliver, Lalit Ponnala, Ahmed Gaballa and Martin Wiedmann
Pathogens 2021, 10(4), 411; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10040411 - 1 Apr 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2528
Abstract
Listeria monocytogenes can regulate and fine-tune gene expression, to adapt to diverse stress conditions encountered during foodborne transmission. To further understand the contributions of alternative sigma (σ) factors to the regulation of L. monocytogenes gene expression, RNA-Seq was performed on L. monocytogenes strain [...] Read more.
Listeria monocytogenes can regulate and fine-tune gene expression, to adapt to diverse stress conditions encountered during foodborne transmission. To further understand the contributions of alternative sigma (σ) factors to the regulation of L. monocytogenes gene expression, RNA-Seq was performed on L. monocytogenes strain 10403S and five isogenic mutants (four strains bearing in-frame null mutations in three out of four alternative σ factor genes, ΔCHL, ΔBHL, ΔBCL, and ΔBCH, and one strain bearing null mutations in all four genes, ΔBCHL), grown to stationary phase. Our data showed that 184, 35, 34, and 20 genes were positively regulated by σB, σL, σH, and σC (posterior probability > 0.9 and Fold Change (FC) > 5.0), respectively. Moreover, σB-dependent genes showed the highest FC (based on comparisons between the ΔCHL and the ΔBCHL strain), with 44 genes showing an FC > 100; only four σL-dependent, and no σH- or σC-dependent genes showed FC >100. While σB-regulated genes identified in this study are involved in stress-associated functions and metabolic pathways, σL appears to largely regulate genes involved in a few specific metabolic pathways, including positive regulation of operons encoding phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP)-dependent phosphotransferase systems (PTSs). Overall, our data show that (i) σB and σL directly and indirectly regulate genes involved in several energy metabolism-related functions; (ii) alternative σ factors are involved in complex regulatory networks and appear to have epistatic effects in stationary phase cells; and (iii) σB regulates multiple stress response pathways, while σL and σH positively regulate a smaller number of specific pathways. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Listeria monocytogenes Pathogenesis)
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21 pages, 2179 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Mobile Genetic Elements Using Long-Read Sequencing for Tracking Listeria monocytogenes from Food Processing Environments
by Hee Jin Kwon, Zhao Chen, Peter Evans, Jianghong Meng and Yi Chen
Pathogens 2020, 9(10), 822; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9100822 - 7 Oct 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2555
Abstract
Recently developed nanopore sequencing technologies offer a unique opportunity to rapidly close the genome and to identify complete sequences of mobile genetic elements (MGEs). In this study, 17 isolates of Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) epidemic clone II (ECII) from seven ready-to-eat meat [...] Read more.
Recently developed nanopore sequencing technologies offer a unique opportunity to rapidly close the genome and to identify complete sequences of mobile genetic elements (MGEs). In this study, 17 isolates of Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) epidemic clone II (ECII) from seven ready-to-eat meat or poultry processing facilities, not known to be associated with outbreaks, were shotgun sequenced, and among them, five isolates were further subjected to long-read sequencing. Additionally, 26 genomes of Lm ECII isolates associated with three listeriosis outbreaks in the U.S. and South Africa were obtained from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database and analyzed to evaluate if MGEs may be used as a high-resolution genetic marker for identifying and sourcing the origin of Lm. The analyses identified four comK prophages in 11 non-outbreak isolates from four facilities and three comK prophages in 20 isolates associated with two outbreaks that occurred in the U.S. In addition, three different plasmids were identified among 10 non-outbreak isolates and 14 outbreak isolates. Each comK prophage and plasmid was conserved among the isolates sharing it. Different prophages from different facilities or outbreaks had significant genetic variations, possibly due to horizontal gene transfer. Phylogenetic analysis showed that isolates from the same facility or the same outbreak always closely clustered. The time of most recent common ancestor of the Lm ECII isolates was estimated to be in March 1816 with the average nucleotide substitution rate of 3.1 × 10−7 substitutions per site per year. This study showed that complete MGE sequences provide a good signal to determine the genetic relatedness of Lm isolates, to identify persistence or repeated contamination that occurred within food processing environment, and to study the evolutionary history among closely related isolates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Listeria monocytogenes Pathogenesis)
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Review

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14 pages, 5313 KiB  
Review
Brainstem Encephalitis Caused by Listeria monocytogenes
by Pengxu Wei, Ruixue Bao and Yubo Fan
Pathogens 2020, 9(9), 715; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9090715 - 30 Aug 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4139
Abstract
International outbreaks of listerial infections have become more frequent in recent years. Listeria monocytogenes, which usually contaminates food, can cause potentially fatal infections. Listerial cerebritis is a rare disease that is encountered mostly in immunocompromised or elderly patients. However, listerial brainstem encephalitis [...] Read more.
International outbreaks of listerial infections have become more frequent in recent years. Listeria monocytogenes, which usually contaminates food, can cause potentially fatal infections. Listerial cerebritis is a rare disease that is encountered mostly in immunocompromised or elderly patients. However, listerial brainstem encephalitis (mesenrhombencephalitis or rhombencephalitis) is found in persons who were formerly in good health, and recognizing this disease, particularly at its early stages, is challenging. Listerial brainstem encephalitis has high mortality, and serious sequelae are frequently reported in survivors. Early recognition and correct diagnosis, as well as the timely use of appropriate antibiotics, can reduce the severity of listerial infections. The trigeminal nerve is proposed as a pathway through which L. monocytogenes reaches the brainstem after entering damaged oropharyngeal mucosa or periodontal tissues. This review introduces the clinical manifestations, pathology, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings, diagnosis, and treatment of listerial brainstem encephalitis. Moreover, it proposes that L. monocytogenes may also invade the brainstem along the vagus nerve after it infects enteric neurons in the walls of the gastrointestinal tract. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Listeria monocytogenes Pathogenesis)
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12 pages, 255 KiB  
Review
Listeria monocytogenes Virulence, Antimicrobial Resistance and Environmental Persistence: A Review
by Lavious Tapiwa Matereke and Anthony Ifeanyi Okoh
Pathogens 2020, 9(7), 528; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9070528 - 30 Jun 2020
Cited by 79 | Viewed by 7831
Abstract
Listeria monocytogenes is a ubiquitous opportunistic pathogen responsible for the well-known listeriosis disease. This bacterium has become a common contaminant of food, threatening the food processing industry. Once consumed, the pathogen is capable of traversing epithelial barriers, cellular invasion, and intracellular replication through [...] Read more.
Listeria monocytogenes is a ubiquitous opportunistic pathogen responsible for the well-known listeriosis disease. This bacterium has become a common contaminant of food, threatening the food processing industry. Once consumed, the pathogen is capable of traversing epithelial barriers, cellular invasion, and intracellular replication through the modulation of virulence factors such as internalins and haemolysins. Mobile genetic elements (plasmids and transposons) and other sophisticated mechanisms are thought to contribute to the increasing antimicrobial resistance of L. monocytogenes. The environmental persistence of the pathogen is aided by its ability to withstand environmental stresses such as acidity, cold stress, osmotic stress, and oxidative stress. This review seeks to give an insight into L. monocytogenes biology, with emphasis on its virulence factors, antimicrobial resistance, and adaptations to environmental stresses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Listeria monocytogenes Pathogenesis)
9 pages, 211 KiB  
Review
Listeria monocytogenes Response to Anaerobic Environments
by Brandy N. Roberts, Damayanti Chakravarty, J.C. Gardner III, Steven C. Ricke and Janet R. Donaldson
Pathogens 2020, 9(3), 210; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9030210 - 12 Mar 2020
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 6109
Abstract
Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive facultative anaerobic bacterium that is responsible for the disease, listeriosis. It is particularly lethal in pregnant women, the fetus, the elderly and the immunocompromised. The pathogen survives and replicates over a wide range of temperatures (4 to 42 [...] Read more.
Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive facultative anaerobic bacterium that is responsible for the disease, listeriosis. It is particularly lethal in pregnant women, the fetus, the elderly and the immunocompromised. The pathogen survives and replicates over a wide range of temperatures (4 to 42 °C), pH, salt and oxygen concentrations. Because it can withstand various environments, L. monocytogenes is a major concern in food processing industries, especially in dairy products and ready-to-eat fruits, vegetables and deli meats. The environment in which the pathogen is exposed can influence the expression of virulence genes. For instance, studies have shown that variations in oxygen availability can impact resistance to stressors. Further investigation is needed to understand the essential genes required for the growth of L. monocytogenes in anaerobic conditions. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to highlight the data on L. monocytogenes under known environmental stresses in anaerobic environments and to focus on gaps in knowledge that may be advantageous to study in order to better understand the pathogenicity of the bacterium. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Listeria monocytogenes Pathogenesis)
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