The Saprophytic Lifestyle of Listeria monocytogenes and Entry Into the Food-Processing Environment

Antonio Lourenco; Kristina Linke; Martin Wagner; Beatrix Stessl

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2022.789801

The Saprophytic Lifestyle of Listeria monocytogenes and Entry Into the Food-Processing Environment

Front Microbiol. 2022 Mar 8:13:789801. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.789801. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Antonio Lourenco^{1

2}, Kristina Linke², Martin Wagner^{2

3}, Beatrix Stessl²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food Biosciences, Teagasc Food Research Centre, Co. Cork, Ireland.
² Unit for Food Microbiology, Institute for Food Safety, Food Technology and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria.
³ Austrian Competence Center for Feed and Food Quality, Safety and Innovation, Tulln, Austria.

Abstract

Listeria monocytogenes is an environmentally adapted saprophyte that can change into a human and animal bacterial pathogen with zoonotic potential through several regulatory systems. In this review, the focus is on the occurrence of Listeria sensu stricto and sensu lato in different ecological niches, the detection methods, and their analytical limitations. It also highlights the occurrence of L. monocytogenes genotypes in the environment (soil, water, and wildlife), reflects on the molecular determinants of L. monocytogenes for the saprophytic lifestyle and the potential for antibiotic resistance. In particular, the strain-specific properties with which some genotypes circulate in wastewater, surface water, soil, wildlife, and agricultural environments are of particular interest for the continuously updating risk analysis.

Keywords: Listeria monocytogenes; environment; genotypes; saprophyte; soil; water.

Publication types

Review