Soil Collected from a Single Great Smoky Mountains Trail Contains a Diversity of Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria spp.

ABSTRACT: Listeria monocytogenes, a foodborne pathogen, and other Listeria spp. are present in natural environments. Isolating and characterizing strains from natural reservoirs can provide insight into the prevalence and diversity of Listeria spp. in these environments, elucidate their contribution to contamination of agricultural and food processing environments and food products, and lead to the discovery of novel species. In this study, we evaluated the diversity of Listeria spp. isolated from soil in a small region of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most biodiverse national park in the U.S. National Park system. Of the 17 Listeria isolates recovered, whole-genome sequencing revealed that 14 were distinct strains. The strains represented a diversity of

SUBMITTER: Claxton ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9927250 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature