Abstract
BackgroundListeria monocytogenes is one of the deadliest foodborne pathogens. The bacterium can tolerate severe environments through biofilm formation and antimicrobial resistance. This study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial susceptibility, resistance genes, virulence, and molecular epidemiology about Listeria from meat processing environments.MethodsThis study evaluated the antibiotic resistance and virulence of Listeria isolates from slaughtering and processing plants. All isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing using a standard microbroth dilution method. The harboring of resistant genes was identified by polymerase chain reaction. The multilocus sequence typing was used to determine the subtyping of the isolates and characterize possible routes of contamination from meat processing environments. The virulence of different STs of L. monocytogenes isolates was evaluated using a Caco-2 cell invasion assay.ResultsA total of 59 Listeria isolates were identified from 320 samples, including 37 L. monocytogenes isolates (62.71%). This study evaluated the virulence of L. monocytogenes and the antibiotic resistance of Listeria isolates from slaughtering and processing plants. The susceptibility of these 59 isolates against 8 antibiotics was analyzed, and the resistance levels to ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, and lincomycin were as high as 98.31% (L. m 37; L. innocua 7; L. welshimeri 14), 96.61% (L. m 36; L. innocua 7; L. welshimeri 14), and 93.22% (L. m 35; L. innocua 7; L. welshimeri 13), respectively. More than 90% of the isolates were resistant to three to six antibiotics, indicating that Listeria isolated from meat processing environments had high antimicrobial resistance. Up to 60% of the isolates harbored the tetracycline-resistance genes tetA and tetM. The frequency of ermA, ermB, ermC, and aac(6′)-Ib was 16.95, 13.56, 15.25, and 6.78%, respectively. Notably, the resistant phenotype and genotype did not match exactly, suggesting that the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance of these isolates were likely related to the processing environment. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) revealed that 59 Listeria isolates were grouped into 10 sequence types (STs). The dominant L. monocytogenes STs were ST5, ST9, and ST121 in the slaughtering and processing plant of Jiangsu province. Moreover, ST5 subtypes exhibited high invasion in Caco-2 cells compared with ST9 and ST121 cells.ConclusionThe dominant L. monocytogenes ST5 persisted in the slaughtering and processing plant and had high antimicrobial resistance and invasion characteristics, illustrating a potential risk in food safety and human health.
Highlights
Listeria monocytogenes is one of the most important foodborne pathogens
L. monocytogenes can persist in food processing environments, such as meat, poultry, dairy, and seafood processing facilities, and the bacteria can proliferate during the storage of chilled food products due to its high degree of resistance under harsh conditions [1]
A total of 59 Listeria isolates were recovered from 320 analyzed samples (18.44%), including 37 L. monocytogenes (11.56%)
Summary
Listeria monocytogenes is one of the most important foodborne pathogens. L. monocytogenes can persist in food processing environments, such as meat, poultry, dairy, and seafood processing facilities, and the bacteria can proliferate during the storage of chilled food products due to its high degree of resistance under harsh conditions [1]. Sources and contamination patterns in various types of products have not yet been determined. The food processing environment is contaminated by L. monocytogenes [3]. The molecular typing of isolates, including pulsedfield gel electrophoresis (PFGE) inside and outside a food processing facility, can indicate potential sources of contamination from the external environment [4]. This study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial susceptibility, resistance genes, virulence, and molecular epidemiology about Listeria from meat processing environments
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