The Cobalamin-Dependent Gene Cluster of Listeria monocytogenes: Implications for Virulence, Stress Response, and Food Safety
Several genes of the eut , pdu , and cob/cbi operons are responsible for the metabolism of ethanolamine (EA) and 1,2-propanediol (PD) and are essential during the pathogenic lifecycles of various enteric pathogens. Studies concerning EA and PD metabolism have primarily focused on bacterial genera fr...
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Published in | Frontiers in microbiology Vol. 11; p. 601816 |
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Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Frontiers Media S.A
06.11.2020
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Several genes of the
eut
,
pdu
, and
cob/cbi
operons are responsible for the metabolism of ethanolamine (EA) and 1,2-propanediol (PD) and are essential during the pathogenic lifecycles of various enteric pathogens. Studies concerning EA and PD metabolism have primarily focused on bacterial genera from the family
Enterobacteriaceae
, especially the genus
Salmonella
.
Listeria monocytogenes
is a member of the
Firmicutes
phylum and is the causative agent of the rare but highly fatal foodborne disease listeriosis. The
eut
,
pdu
, and
cob/cbi
operons are organized as a single large locus collectively referred to as the cobalamin-dependent gene cluster (CDGC). The CDGC is well conserved in
L. monocytogenes
; however, functional characterization of the genes in this cluster and how they may contribute to
Listeria
virulence and stress tolerance in food production environments is highly limited. Previous work suggests that the degradation pathway of PD is essential for
L. monocytogenes
establishment in the gastrointestinal tract. In contrast, EA metabolism may be more important during intracellular replication. Other studies indicate that the CDGC is utilized when
L. monocytogenes
is exposed to food and food production relevant stress conditions. Perhaps most noteworthy,
L. monocytogenes
exhibits attenuated growth at cold temperatures when a key EA utilization pathway gene was deleted. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge of these pathways in
L. monocytogenes
and their significance in virulence and stress tolerance, especially considering recent developments. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Review-1 This article was submitted to Food Microbiology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Microbiology Edited by: Arun K. Bhunia, Purdue University, United States Reviewed by: Taurai Tasara, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Thilo M. Fuchs, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, Germany |
ISSN: | 1664-302X 1664-302X |
DOI: | 10.3389/fmicb.2020.601816 |