Mobile Elements Harboring Heavy Metal and Bacitracin Resistance Genes Are Common among Listeria monocytogenes Strains Persisting on Dairy Farms.

ABSTRACT: Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen and a resilient environmental saprophyte. Dairy farms are a reservoir of L. monocytogenes, and strains can persist on farms for years. Here, we sequenced the genomes of 250 L. monocytogenes isolates to investigate the persistence and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) of Listeria strains inhabiting dairy farms. We performed a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based phylogenomic analysis to identify 14 monophyletic clades of L. monocytogenes persistent on the farms for ≥6 months. We found that prophages and other mobile genetic elements were, on average, more numerous among isolates in persistent than nonpersistent clades, and we demonstrated that resistance genes against bacitracin, arsenic, and cadmium were significantly more prevalent

SUBMITTER: Castro H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8386393 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature