Real-time PCR assay to differentiate Listeriolysin S-positive and -negative strains of Listeria monocytogenes.

ABSTRACT: Due to the severity of the food-borne infection listeriosis, strict legislation governs the detectable and permissible limits at which Listeria monocytogenes is permitted in foods. These requirements, coupled with the ubiquitous nature of L. monocytogenes strains and the potential for epidemic outbreaks, mean that the pathogen can devastate affected sectors of the food industry. Although almost all L. monocytogenes strains have the potential to cause listeriosis, those implicated in the vast majority of epidemics belong to a subset of strains belonging to evolutionary lineage I. It has been established that a significant proportion of these strains, including those implicated in the majority of outbreaks, produce an additional hemolysin, designated listeriolysin S (LLS), which may be respo

SUBMITTER: Clayton EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3019701 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature