Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Applied and Environmental Microbiology logoLink to Applied and Environmental Microbiology
. 1997 Mar;63(3):1077–1082. doi: 10.1128/aem.63.3.1077-1082.1997

DNA fragments from regions involved in surface antigen expression specifically identify Listeria monocytogenes serovar 4 and a subset thereof: cluster IIB (serotypes 4b, 4d, and 4e).

X H Lei 1, N Promadej 1, S Kathariou 1
PMCID: PMC168398  PMID: 9055423

Abstract

Listeria monocytogenes serotype 4b has frequently been implicated in sporadic as well as epidemic listeriosis. On the basis of pulsed-field fingerprinting, serotype 4b strains, along with strains of serotypes 4d and 4e, constitute one genomic cluster (IIB). We have identified two genomic regions essential for the expression of surface antigens which previously were shown to be specific to cluster IIB strains. A DNA probe of 1.1 kb derived from one of the regions (probe 1) hybridized only with strains of serotypes 4b, 4d, and 4e in Southern blots and dot blots. A different DNA probe of 0.3 kb (probe 2), derived from the other region, hybridized with all serovar 4 strains (serotypes 4b, 4a, 4c, 4d, and 4e). All other L. monocytogenes serotypes were negative with probe 1 or 2. Use of probe 1 in Southern blots of EcoRI-digested genomic DNA revealed a restriction fragment length polymorphism in serotype 4b strains, with the hybridizing EcoRI fragments being 4.5 kb (strains of the epidemic clone) and either 4.5 or 5.0 kb (all other serotype 4b strains). Although the probes hybridized with a special group of Listeria innocua strains which also expressed the surface antigens, the latter could be readily distinguished by the size of the hybridizing EcoRI fragment with probe 1 (ca. 2.2 kb). These data suggest that the combined use of these probes with L. monocytogenes can readily and specifically identify cluster IIB strains as well as the entire serovar 4 complex.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (574.2 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bhunia A. K., Johnson M. G. Monoclonal antibody specific for Listeria monocytogenes associated with a 66-kilodalton cell surface antigen. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1992 Jun;58(6):1924–1929. doi: 10.1128/aem.58.6.1924-1929.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bibb W. F., Gellin B. G., Weaver R., Schwartz B., Plikaytis B. D., Reeves M. W., Pinner R. W., Broome C. V. Analysis of clinical and food-borne isolates of Listeria monocytogenes in the United States by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis and application of the method to epidemiologic investigations. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1990 Jul;56(7):2133–2141. doi: 10.1128/aem.56.7.2133-2141.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bibb W. F., Schwartz B., Gellin B. G., Plikaytis B. D., Weaver R. E. Analysis of Listeria monocytogenes by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis and application of the method to epidemiologic investigations. Int J Food Microbiol. 1989 Jun;8(3):233–239. doi: 10.1016/0168-1605(89)90018-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Brosch R., Chen J., Luchansky J. B. Pulsed-field fingerprinting of listeriae: identification of genomic divisions for Listeria monocytogenes and their correlation with serovar. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1994 Jul;60(7):2584–2592. doi: 10.1128/aem.60.7.2584-2592.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Chen J., Brosch R., Luchansky J. B. Isolation and characterization of Listeria monocytogenes-specific nucleotide sequences. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1993 Dec;59(12):4367–4370. doi: 10.1128/aem.59.12.4367-4370.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Clewell D. B., Flannagan S. E., Ike Y., Jones J. M., Gawron-Burke C. Sequence analysis of termini of conjugative transposon Tn916. J Bacteriol. 1988 Jul;170(7):3046–3052. doi: 10.1128/jb.170.7.3046-3052.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Czajka J., Bsat N., Piani M., Russ W., Sultana K., Wiedmann M., Whitaker R., Batt C. A. Differentiation of Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria innocua by 16S rRNA genes and intraspecies discrimination of Listeria monocytogenes strains by random amplified polymorphic DNA polymorphisms. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1993 Jan;59(1):304–308. doi: 10.1128/aem.59.1.304-308.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Ericsson H., Stålhandske P., Danielsson-Tham M. L., Bannerman E., Bille J., Jacquet C., Rocourt J., Tham W. Division of Listeria monocytogenes serovar 4b strains into two groups by PCR and restriction enzyme analysis. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1995 Nov;61(11):3872–3874. doi: 10.1128/aem.61.11.3872-3874.1995. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Farber J. M., Peterkin P. I. Listeria monocytogenes, a food-borne pathogen. Microbiol Rev. 1991 Sep;55(3):476–511. doi: 10.1128/mr.55.3.476-511.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kathariou S., Mizumoto C., Allen R. D., Fok A. K., Benedict A. A. Monoclonal antibodies with a high degree of specificity for Listeria monocytogenes serotype 4b. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1994 Oct;60(10):3548–3552. doi: 10.1128/aem.60.10.3548-3552.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kathariou S., Pine L., George V., Carlone G. M., Holloway B. P. Nonhemolytic Listeria monocytogenes mutants that are also noninvasive for mammalian cells in culture: evidence for coordinate regulation of virulence. Infect Immun. 1990 Dec;58(12):3988–3995. doi: 10.1128/iai.58.12.3988-3995.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Piffaretti J. C., Kressebuch H., Aeschbacher M., Bille J., Bannerman E., Musser J. M., Selander R. K., Rocourt J. Genetic characterization of clones of the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes causing epidemic disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 May;86(10):3818–3822. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.10.3818. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Schuchat A., Swaminathan B., Broome C. V. Epidemiology of human listeriosis. Clin Microbiol Rev. 1991 Apr;4(2):169–183. doi: 10.1128/cmr.4.2.169. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Schönberg A., Teufel P., Weise E. Serovars of Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria innocua from food. Acta Microbiol Hung. 1989;36(2-3):249–253. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Tabouret M., de Rycke J., Dubray G. Analysis of surface proteins of Listeria in relation to species, serovar and pathogenicity. J Gen Microbiol. 1992 Apr;138(4):743–753. doi: 10.1099/00221287-138-4-743. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Walker S. J., Archer P., Banks J. G. Growth of Listeria monocytogenes at refrigeration temperatures. J Appl Bacteriol. 1990 Feb;68(2):157–162. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1990.tb02561.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Zheng W., Kathariou S. Differentiation of epidemic-associated strains of Listeria monocytogenes by restriction fragment length polymorphism in a gene region essential for growth at low temperatures (4 degrees C). Appl Environ Microbiol. 1995 Dec;61(12):4310–4314. doi: 10.1128/aem.61.12.4310-4314.1995. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Zheng W., Kathariou S. Transposon-induced mutants of Listeria monocytogenes incapable of growth at low temperature (4 degrees C). FEMS Microbiol Lett. 1994 Sep 1;121(3):287–291. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1994.tb07114.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Applied and Environmental Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES