Listeria monocytogenes is a life-threatening bacterial foodborne pathogen that can persist in food-processing facilities for years. Although phages can control
L. monocytogenes during food production, phage-resistant bacterial subpopulations can regrow in phage-treated environments. In this study, an
L. monocytogenes hly defective strain, NJ05-Δ
[...] Read more.
Listeria monocytogenes is a life-threatening bacterial foodborne pathogen that can persist in food-processing facilities for years. Although phages can control
L. monocytogenes during food production, phage-resistant bacterial subpopulations can regrow in phage-treated environments. In this study, an
L. monocytogenes hly defective strain, NJ05-Δ
hly, was produced, which considerably regulated the interactions between
L. monocytogenes and phages. Specifically, we observed a 76.92-fold decrease in the efficiency of plating of the defective strain following infection with the
Listeria phage vB-LmoM-NJ05. The lytic effect was notably diminished at multiplicities of infection of 1 and 10. Furthermore, the inactivation of LLO impaired biofilm formation, which was completely suppressed and eliminated following treatment with 10
8 PFU/mL of phage. Additionally, phages protected cells from mitochondrial membrane damage and the accumulation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species induced by
L. monocytogenes invasion. Transcriptomic analysis confirmed these findings, revealing the significant downregulation of genes associated with phage sensitivity, pathogenicity, biofilm formation, and motility in
L. monocytogenes. These results underscore the vital role of LLO in regulating the pathogenicity, phage susceptibility, and biofilm formation of
L. monocytogenes. These observations highlight the important role of virulence factors in phage applications and provide insights into the potential use of phages for developing biosanitizers.
Full article
