Large-scale genetic analysis and biological traits of two SigB factors in Listeria monocytogenes: lineage correlations and differential functions

Pan Mao; Yan Wang; Lin Gan; Lingyun Liu; Jinni Chen; Lingling Li; Hui Sun; Xia Luo; Changyun Ye

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1268709

Large-scale genetic analysis and biological traits of two SigB factors in Listeria monocytogenes: lineage correlations and differential functions

Front Microbiol. 2023 Nov 13:14:1268709. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1268709. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Pan Mao¹, Yan Wang¹, Lin Gan², Lingyun Liu¹, Jinni Chen¹, Lingling Li¹, Hui Sun¹, Xia Luo¹, Changyun Ye¹

Affiliations

¹ National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
² Department of Bacteriology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Listeria monocytogenes is a globally distributed bacterium that exhibits genetic diversity and trait heterogeneity. The alternative sigma factor SigB serves as a crucial transcriptional regulator essential for responding to environmental stress conditions and facilitating host infection.

Method: We employed a comprehensive genetic analysis of sigB in a dataset comprising 46,921 L. monocytogenes genomes. The functional attributes of SigB were evaluated by phenotypic experiments.

Results: Our study revealed the presence of two predominant SigB factors (SigB_T1 and SigB_T2) in L. monocytogenes, with a robust correlation between SigB_T1 and lineages I and III, as well as SigB_T2 and lineage II. Furthermore, SigB_T1 exhibits superior performance in promoting cellular invasion, cytotoxicity and enhancing biofilm formation and cold tolerance abilities under minimally defined media conditions compared to SigB_T2.

Discussion: The functional characteristics of SigB_T1 suggest a potential association with the epidemiology of lineages I and III strains in both human hosts and the natural environment. Our findings highlight the important role of distinct SigB factors in influencing the biological traits of L. monocytogenes of different lineages, thus highlighting its distinct pathogenic and adaptive attributes.

Keywords: Listeria monocytogenes; SigB factor; biological trait; genetic analysis; lineage.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by grants from the National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC (2021ZZKT003) (102393220020020000029).