About Listeria

General information:
Gram-positive, low G+C content, rod-shaped, non-capsulated, non-sportulating bacterium, closely related to the Bacillus group.
Consisting of six species: L. monocytogenes, L. seeligeri, L. welshimeri, L. innocua, L. ivanovii, and L. grayi.
Characteristics:
L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii are typical facultative intracellular parasites, able to enter, survive and multiply inside phagocytic and nonphagocytic cells.
Mode of entry: zipper mechanism.
Spreads directly from cell to cell by actin-based intracellular movements.
Genome Features of Listeria monocytogenes:
many putative surface proteins (internalins, LPXTG proteins, lipoproteins, GW module-containing proteins, p60-like proteins, etc.)
large number of transport proteins
many transcriptional regulators
plasmids and transposons are very rarely present in Listeria.
Disease:
L. monocytogenes infects both human and aminals causing meningitis, sepsis, and abortion, L.ivanovii is restricted to sheep and cattle, in which it causes septicemic disease, neonatal sepsis and abortion, but no brain infection. The infectious disease caused by these bacteria is known as listeriosis. The other species are generally considered nonpathogenic.
Selected genomes: ⇒ comparative pathogenomics ⇐
L. innocua Clip11262, 3011208 bp, NC_003212
L. ivanovii subsp. ivanovii PAM 55, 2928879 bp, NC_016011
L. monocytogenes 07PF0776, 2901562 bp, NC_017728
L. monocytogenes 08-5578, 3032288 bp, NC_013766
L. monocytogenes 08-5923, 2999054 bp, NC_013768
L. monocytogenes 10403S, 2903106 bp, NC_017544
L. monocytogenes ATCC 19117, 2951805 bp, NC_018584
L. monocytogenes EGD-e, 2944528 bp, NC_003210
L. monocytogenes Finland 1998, 2874431 bp, NC_017547
L. monocytogenes FSL R2-561, 2973801 bp, NC_017546
L. monocytogenes HCC23, 2976212 bp, NC_011660
L. monocytogenes J0161, 3000464 bp, NC_017545
L. monocytogenes J1-220, 2947460 bp, NC_021829
L. monocytogenes J1816, 3032271 bp, NC_021830
L. monocytogenes L312, 2912346 bp, NC_018642
L. monocytogenes L99, 2979198 bp, NC_017529
L. monocytogenes M7, 2976163 bp, NC_017537
L. monocytogenes N53-1, 2776847 bp, NC_020558
L. monocytogenes serotype 4b str. CLIP 80459, 2912690 bp, NC_012488
L. monocytogenes serotype 4b str. F2365, 2905187 bp, NC_002973
L. monocytogenes serotype 4b str. LL195, 2904662 bp, NC_019556
L. monocytogenes serotype 7 str. SLCC2482, 2936689 bp, NC_018591
L. monocytogenes SLCC2372, 2972810 bp, NC_018588
L. monocytogenes SLCC2376, 2840185 bp, NC_018590
L. monocytogenes SLCC2378, 2941360 bp, NC_018585
L. monocytogenes SLCC2479, 2972172 bp, NC_018589
L. monocytogenes SLCC2540, 2976958 bp, NC_018586
L. monocytogenes SLCC2755, 2966146 bp, NC_018587
L. monocytogenes SLCC5850, 2907142 bp, NC_018592
L. monocytogenes SLCC7179, 2882234 bp, NC_018593
L. monocytogenes str. La111, 2776517 bp, NC_020557
L. seeligeri serovar 1/2b str. SLCC3954, 2797636 bp, NC_013891
L. welshimeri serovar 6b str. SLCC5334, 2814130 bp, NC_008555
Related publications:
Glaser P, et al., 2001. Comparative genomics of Listeria species. Science 294(5543):849-852.
Nelson KE, et al., 2004. Whole genome comparisons of serotype 4b and 1/2a strains of the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes reveal new insights into the core genome components of this species. Nucleic Acids Res. 32(8):2386-2395.
Hain T, et al., 2006. Whole-Genome Sequence of Listeria welshimeri Reveals Common Steps in Genome Reduction with Listeria innocua as Compared to Listeria monocytogenes. J. Bacteriol. 188(21):7405-7415.
Steinweg C, et al., 2010. Complete genome sequence of Listeria seeligeri, a nonpathogenic member of the genus Listeria. J Bacteriol 192(5):1473-4.
Gilmour MW, et al., 2010. High-throughput genome sequencing of two Listeria monocytogenes clinical isolates during a large foodborne outbreak. BMC Genomics 11:120.
Chen Y, et al., 2011. Genome sequences of Listeria monocytogenes strains J1816 and J1-220, associated with human outbreaks. J Bacteriol 193(13):3424-5.
Steele CL, et al., 2011. Genome sequence of lineage III Listeria monocytogenes strain HCC23. J Bacteriol 193(14):3679-3680.
Chen J, et al., 2011. Genome sequence of the nonpathogenic Listeria monocytogenes serovar 4a strain M7. J Bacteriol 193(18):5019-20.
Buchrieser C, et al., 2011. Complete genome sequence of the animal pathogen Listeria ivanovii, which provides insights into host specificities and evolution of the genus Listeria. J Bacteriol 193(23):6787-8.
McMullen PD, et al., 2012. Genome sequence of Listeria monocytogenes 07PF0776, a cardiotropic serovar 4b strain. J Bacteriol 194(13):3552.
Figures:
Schema of intracellular life cycle of pathogenic Listeria (Reproduced from: Vazquez-Boland JA, et al., 2001. Pathogenicity islands and virulence evolution in Listeria. Microbes Infect. 3(7):571-584.).

Terms

zipper mechanism

Entails the zippering of the host cell membrane around the bacterium as it enters. This mode of entry into non-professional phagocytes is empolyed by Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Listeria monocytogenes. Bacterial ligand interacts with a surface molecule on the host cell. The receptor is generally a protein involved in cell adhesion and/or activation of the cytoskeleton machinery. The ligand-receptor interaction induces local rearrangements in actin cytoskeleton and other signals that culminate in the tight envelopment of the bacterial body by the plasma membrane.

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