Molecular characteristics and virulence potential of Listeria monocytogenes isolates from Chinese food systems

In this study, we examined Listeria monocytogenes isolates from Chinese food sources in an attempt to gain further insights on the molecular characteristics and virulence potential of this important foodborne pathogen. Of the 88 L. monocytogenes food isolates recovered, 42 (47.7%) were of serovars 1/2a or 3a; 23 (26.1%) of serovars 1/2b or 3b; 15 (17.0%) of 1/2c or 3c; 6 (6.8%) of serovars 4b, 4d or 4e; and 2 (2.2%) of serovars 4a or 4c. In contrast to inlAB locus conserved in all serovars, internalin cluster between ascB and dapE varies with different serovars, with inlC2DE, inlGC2DE and inlGHE predominantly in serovars 1/2b or 4b, serovar 1/2a and serovar 1/2c. While inlF existed in all the inlGHE- and inlGC2DE-containing isolates but 17.4% of those having inlC2DE, lmo2026 existed in all the inlGHE-containing isolates but 20.0% of those bearing inlGC2DE, suggesting that inlF might have co-evolved with inlGC2DE and inlGHE while lmo2026 with inlGHE only. With the exception of serovar 4a isolate, most serovar isolates demonstrated remarkable ability to form plaques on L929 cells and produced significant mouse mortality irrespective of the internalin gene organization and whether an intact actA gene is present or not. These results indicate that majority of these food isolates may have the potential to cause human diseases if ingested via contaminated foods. Given that serovar 4b accounts for nearly half of human clinical listeriosis cases documented, the relative low proportion of serovar 4b food isolates suggests that this serovar is probably more tolerant of the adverse conditions in the host's stomach and/or more efficient in entering host cells than serovars 1/2a, 1/2b and 1/2c.