Transcriptomic analysis of Listeria monocytogenes under pulsed magnetic field treatment

Pulsed magnetic field (PMF) is an emerging non-thermal decontamination technology. The lack of research on microbial inactivation mechanisms restricts the wide application of PMF. In this study the effect of PMF on the gene expression level of Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) was evaluated to explore the inactivation mechanism of PMF. Transcriptomics was applied to study the gene expression level of Listeria monocytogenes and 588 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) including 307 up-regulated and 281 down-regulated genes were identified after PMF treatment (8 T, 20 pulses). Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways analysis have demonstrated significant changes in mobility, carbohydrate metabolism, energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism, phosphorylation and dephosphorylation, membrane, quorum sensing, two-component regulatory system and ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters. The expression level of 5 relevant genes was subsequently confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR assay.