Phage and Listeria

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Listeria and Listeriosis

The genus Listeria is Gram-positive, rod-shaped, belonging to the family of the phylum Firmicutes. There are multiple species belonging to the genus Listeria. However, only Listeria monocytogenes are the species of pathogenic Listeria that result in bacterial infection of listeriosis. Listeria monocytogenes are usually present in food and water and transmit through oral ingestion of contaminated food, which cause listeriosis via penetration of the gastrointestinal tract to cause systemic infections. The Listeria usually infect young, old, pregnant, and immunocompromised individuals. The clinical symptoms of listeriosis include gastroenteritis and fever, in severe cases, abortion in pregnant women, sepsis, meningitis, or encephalitis. Listeria can survive in high salt and low temperature environments and are susceptible to biofilm formation, thus posing a high risk of pathogenic bacteria in the food industry.

Bacteriophages of Listeria

Bacteriophages have become an emerging focus of research and development interest, as they can be applied as therapeutics to control pathogenic bacteria, and as advanced tools for separation and diagnostics of bacteria. More than 500 bacteriophages specific for Listeria have been isolated and characterized up to date, which are used to control foodborne outbreaks and epidemics. The constructed luciferase Listeria reporter phage can be used to detect foodborne Listeria, which is more sensitive and faster than conventional enrichment and plating protocols. Phage-based biocontrol is most effective by removal of the Listeria or Listeria biofilms from contaminations in food material, food production facilities, aquiculture, etc. Furthermore, the usage of recombinant phage-encoded peptidoglycan hydrolases (endolysins) is another biocontrol and detection strategy for Listeria or Listeria biofilms, which has less difficulty in being approved as protein-based disinfectants compared to phage products.

Fig.1 Listeria phage morphology visualized by transmission electron microscopy. (Erickson, 2021)

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Reference:

1. Erickson, Stephen, et al. "Isolation and engineering of a Listeria grayi bacteriophage." Scientific Reports 11.1 (2021): 18947. Under Open Access license CC BY 4.0, without modification.