Bacteriocin-producing Lactobacillus strains isolated from poto poto, a Congolese fermented maize product, and genetic fingerprinting of their plantaricin operons

Thirty one bacteriocin-producing Lactobacillus isolates were identified among 135 lactobacilli isolated from the Congolese fermented maize product poto poto, during the preparation and from the finished product. Using species-specific PCR and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, 28 and 3 isolates were identified as L. plantarum and L. fermentum, respectively. Cluster analysis of RAPD-PCR fingerprints revealed two main groups (G1 and G2) plus the L. fermentum isolate C4-13. Group G1 contained 23 isolates with a similarity coefficient >74.5%, and could be divided in two subgroups (G1-1, G1-2) each with several branches, plus the L. plantarum isolate C11. Group G2 contained 8 isolates with a similarity coefficient >86%, with two main branches. Using PCR amplification with specific primers, several genes of the plantaricin cluster found in L. plantarum C11 were identified in the isolates. The number of genes that were detected varied between the strains. The L. fermentum isolate EC11 also contained the plnDEFG genes. PCR amplification of DNA from isolates with primers directed to the upstream and downstream region of the plantaricin cluster generated an amplicon identical to that obtained with DNA from the control strain L. plantarum WCFS1. Amplification products from the positive strains were used for restriction analysis with HindIII, EcoRI and KpnI in separate reactions. Cluster analysis of restriction profiles revealed high similarities for EcoRI and HindII digest profiles, and an identical profile for all KpnI digests. The L. fermentum EC11 isolate clustered with L. plantarum strains in a group with a high correlation coefficient. The results suggest a low degree of diversity in the plantarincin gene cluster. However, other strains that tested positive for individual plantaricin genes may present great heterogeneity in the plantaricin operons. Because of their broad spectra of inhibition (including Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Enterobacter aerogenes, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Enterococcus faecalis), isolates from the present study could be used to improve the safety and storage stability of poto poto.     

进出境食品中单核增生李斯特菌的血清分型与脉冲场凝胶电泳分型分析

目的研究进出境食品中的单核增生李斯特菌(LMO)的血清分型与脉冲场凝胶电泳(PFGE)分型的特性及其关系。方法采用标准方法对39株分离的LMO进行PFGE分型,分别用ApaI和Asc I酶切,电泳图谱进行聚类分析,以上菌株同时进行血清分型检测。结果 39株LMO分成6个血清型;经ApaI酶切后,分成29种带型,相似度在57.4%～100%;Asc I酶切后,分成34种带型,相似度在48.6%～100%。讨论 AscI酶切的PFGE分离效果优于ApaI酶切,与血清分型的一致性低于ApaI酶切;PFGE分型效果优于血清分型。     

DNA fingerprinting of Listeria monocytogenes strains by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis

Chromosomal DNA of Listeria monocytogenes strains was digested with SmaI restriction enzyme, and the resulting fragments were separated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Distinctive banding patterns were obtained from the strains of major foodborne disease serotypes 1/2a, 1/2b and 4b. Matched sets of clinical and food isolates revealed close similarity among strains from a given episode and distinct differences among strains from separate episodes.     

2000—2018年福建省单核细胞增生李斯特菌分离株血清型及脉冲场凝胶电泳分型

目的 分析福建省食品、临床病例和环境中单核细胞增生李斯特菌分离株的血清型和脉冲场凝胶电泳(PFGE)分型,为食源性疾病的暴发识别和溯源提供参考依据。方法 采用多重聚合酶链式反应(PCR)血清学分型、免疫血清凝集和PFGE方法对2000—2018年分离的单核细胞增生李斯特菌进行分型。结果 117株单核细胞增生李斯特菌分为4组血清型,包括1/2a(3a)、1/2b(3b)、1/2c(3c)和4b(4d,4e),占比分别为67.5%(79/117)、23.1%(27/117)、5.1%(6/117)和4.3%(5/117)。9株病例分离株血清型为1/2a(6株)、4b(2株)和1/2b(1株)。采用Asc I限制性内切酶将117株单核细胞增生李斯特菌分为83种不同PFGE型别,其中10株具有独特单一的型别。9株病例分离株分为8种不同PFGE型别。结论 福建省食品和病例中分离的单核细胞增生李斯特菌,1/2a血清型占主导地位,4b血清型应引起关注。     

Isolation of bacteriocinogenic Lactobacillus plantarum strains from ben saalga, a traditional fermented gruel from Burkina Faso

A collection of lactic acid bacteria isolated from ben saalga, a traditional fermented gruel from Burkina Faso, was screened for bacteriocin production. Seven isolates were selected for their broad antimicrobial spectra, which overall included strains of Bacillus cereus, Bacillus licheniformis, Enterococcus faecalis, Listeria innocua, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica. Cluster analysis of RAPD-PCR patterns revealed that six of the isolates represent different strains. The six selected strains were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum by 16S rDNA sequencing, species-specific PCR and multiplex PCR of the recA gene. PCR amplification revealed the presence of genes of the plantaricin cluster described in L. plantarum C11. Among them, strain 5.2.2 carried the largest number of genes from this cluster.     

Prevalence and typing of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat food products on the Belgian market

Listeria monocytogenes is a major concern to producers of ready-to-eat foods because of the high mortality rate associated with listeriosis and the widespread nature of the organism. To investigate the prevalence of this pathogen in different ready-to-eat food products on the Belgian market, a variety of 252 ready-to-eat food products, mainly fish and meat products, were analyzed. Overall, L. monocytogenes was detected in 23.4% of the samples. The highest prevalence of L. monocytogenes was found in prepared minced meat (42.1%) and smoked halibut (33.3%). Contamination levels were in most cases low (<10 CFU/g); however, levels higher than 100 CFU/g were detected in some samples of smoked salmon, smoked halibut, and prepared minced meat. A high prevalence of Listeria innocua (15.8%) and Listeria welshimeri (36.8%) was detected in prepared minced meat. L. monocytogenes strains isolated from different contaminated products were subjected to repetitive element sequence-based PCR (REP-PCR) typing to determine possible associations with product type, producer, or market. REP-PCR patterns were analyzed using BioNumerics software, and seven different groups with at least 90% similarity were identified. The cluster analysis indicates that cross-contamination occurred at the producer and retail level. Serotype identification of the strains by PCR revealed that most belonged to the 1/2a(3a) serotype group.     

Phenotypic and genetic diversity of enterococci isolated from Italian cheeses

In the present study, 124 enterococcal strains, isolated from traditional Italian cow, goat and buffalo cheeses, were characterized using phenotypic features and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR). The RAPD-PCR profiles obtained with four primers and five different amplification conditions were compared by numerical analysis and allowed an inter- and intraspecific differentiation of the isolates. Whole cell protein analysis by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was used as a reference method for species identification. The strains were identified as Enterococcus faecalis (82 strains), E. faecium (27 strains), E. durans (nine strains), E. gallinarum (four strains) and E. hirae (two strains). Species recognition by means of RAPD-PCR was in agreement with the SDS-PAGE results except for eight strains of E. faecium that clustered in separated groups. On the other hand, phenotypic identification based on carbohydrate fermentation profiles, using the rapid ID 32 STREP galleries, gave different results from SDS-PAGE in 12.1% of the cases. The majority of the strains had weak acidifying and proteolytic activities in milk. One E. faecium strain showed vanA (vancomycin resistance) genotype while four strains showed a beta-haemolytic reaction on human blood. Several strains showed antagonistic activity towards indicator strains of Listeria innocua, Clostridium tyrobutyricam and Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermanii.     

Similar Listeria monocytogenes pulsotypes detected in several foods originating from different sources

The purpose of the study was to obtain fingerprinting data of Listeria monocytogenes strains isolated in various foods to determine possible associations of strains with product type, producer, country or isolation time. Two hundred and ninety-five L. monocytogenes strains originating from food items of 41 producers of 10 countries were characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing. Combination of AscI and ApaI macrorestriction patterns (MRP) yielded 66 different pulsotypes. Ten pulsotypes were common to two or more product types and 17 pulsotypes were detected in foods of more than one producer having no apparent association with each other. Similar pulsotypes of L. monocytogenes were recovered in products of different countries over several years. Some of the pulsotypes were recurrently recovered from the same product of the same producer, suggesting a possible persistence of these strains in the processing plant. However, some of the recurrently isolated L. monocytogenes pulsotypes were repeatedly found in products of several producers, which may indicate that persistent houseflora strains are not always producer-specific. Furthermore, the similarity of macrorestriction patterns expressed as clusters, based on the numerical analysis of macrorestriction patterns, was not found to correlate with product type, country, producer or year of isolation. Our data suggest a wide geographical and temporal distribution of a number of L. monocytogenes strains isolated in food products. The existence of similar L. monocytogenes strains in various food products of several producers should be considered if food strain fingerprint results are used to help trace the vehicles for infections.     

Prevalence and genetic diversity of Listeria monocytogenes in the tonsils of pigs

This study was set up to establish the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in the tonsils of sows and fattening pigs from five Finnish slaughterhouses and to evaluate the genetic similarity of L. monocytogenes strains isolated from the tonsils. A total of 271 pig tonsils (132 tonsils from fattening pigs and 139 from sows) from five different slaughterhouses in various parts of Finland were studied from June 1999 to March 2000. Overall, 14 and 4% of pig tonsils harbored L. monocytogenes and Listeria innocua, respectively. The prevalence of L. monocytogenes in tonsils of fattening pigs (22%) was significantly higher than in sows (6%). The isolates (n = 38) recovered from tonsils showed a wide genetic diversity by means of 24 different pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) types presented by the strains. Moreover, in numerical analyses of restriction patterns, no association was found between the clustering of strains and the slaughterhouses, and strains showing a similar PFGE type were recovered from pigs of different slaughterhouses. The high prevalence of L. monocytogenes showing various PFGE types in the tonsils of pigs could indicate a potential source of contamination of pluck sets, carcasses, and the slaughterhouse environment and of subsequent processing steps.     

A PCR method based on 16S rRNA sequence for simultaneous detection of the genus Listeria and the species Listeria monocytogenes in food products

The genus Listeria comprises six closely related species, of which only Listeria monocytogenes is a human pathogen. The rapid and sensitive detection of L. monocytogenes is important in the food industry as well as in medical diagnosis. In this study, a PCR-based method for the rapid, specific, and sensitive detection of L. monocytogenes in food products was developed. The PCR is based on DNA sequences and primer pairs that are found within the 16S subunit of the rRNA gene and are specific to the Listeria genus and to L. monocytogenes within the Listeria genus. The primers for the Listeria genus and for L. monocytogenes were used in the same reaction mix for their simultaneous detection. In addition, a pair of bacterial primers universal to any bacterial DNA at the 16S subunit of the rRNA gene were developed as a positive control. For the detection of Listeria and L. monocytogenes in food products, the method includes selective enrichment for Listeria followed by DNA extraction and a specific PCR reaction. The method detects 1 to 5 CFU in a 25-g sample in < or = 24 h. It can be easily incorporated into the routine screening of diverse food products and readily adapted for clinical use.     

云南淡水鱼中单增李斯特氏菌污染状况及耐药性分析

目的了解云南淡水鱼中单增李斯特氏菌污染状况及耐药情况。方法从云南省昆明市、曲靖市、大理州、红河州4个淡水鱼主产区采集淡水鱼样品110件,参照GB 4789.30—2016《食品安全国家标准食品微生物学检验单核细胞增生李斯特氏菌检验》分离鉴定单增李斯特氏菌,并进一步开展16S rRNA序列鉴定和同源性分析,对鉴定菌株采用微量肉汤稀释法分析抗生素敏感性。结果110件样品检出2株单增李斯特氏菌(DZ-054、DZ-101),检出率为1.82%。2株单增李斯特氏菌之间相似度达到99.64%。DZ-101菌株对氨苄西林、青霉素敏感(S),DZ-054菌株对抗生素不敏感。结论云南省淡水鱼中单增李斯特菌的污染率较低,但仍有一定的安全隐患,相关部门应加强监管。     

单核细胞增生李斯特氏菌的PCR检测方法

研究比较了裂解法、热煮沸法、试验盒法提取单增李斯特氏菌DNA的效果 ,认为Promega试剂盒法提取的DNA ,得率高、纯度好。同时根据单增李斯特氏菌的毒力相关基因的 5对引物 ,进行了引物的特异性研究 ,结果发现inlA引物、inlB引物、plcA引物特异性好 ,可以用于食品中单增李斯特氏菌的检测     

食品中单核细胞增生性李斯特氏菌PCR快速检测方法

为建立食品中单核细胞增生性李斯特氏菌 (单增李斯特氏菌 )的快速、敏感、特异的PCR检测方法 ,选取hlyA基因作为靶序列设计一对引物 ,用该引物对 6 3株从国内食品中分离的李斯特氏菌 (进行传统方法验证 )和 2 0株非李斯特氏菌进行PCR扩增 ,并用此方法对人工污染食品进行检测 ,扩增片段表现出极好的单增李斯特氏菌种特异性 ,人工污染的生肉、冷冻虾仁、卷心菜的检出限为 39cfu g ,为食品中单增李斯特氏菌的快速、敏感并且特异的检测方法。     

2019年北京市食源性单增李斯特菌的分子特征和耐药性研究

研究2019年北京市食源性单增李斯特菌进行分子特征和耐药性。 方法 使用多重PCR进行血清群分型、对分离的56株菌进行脉冲场凝胶电泳（pulsed field gel electrophoresis,PFGE）、多位点序列分析（multilocus sequence typing, MLST）,使用微量肉汤法检测菌株的耐药性。 结果 56株单增李斯特菌中有28株分离自冷锅串串和中式凉拌菜,1/2a, 3a是主要的血清群。56株菌共分为29个PFGE带型、14个ST型,ST9、ST5、ST8、ST121是其主要的ST型别。2株菌对环丙沙星耐药,1株菌对四环素耐药。结论 冷锅串串和中式凉拌菜是单增李斯特菌污染的高危食品。北京市食品来源单增李斯特菌的ST型别与国内其他地方食品来源菌株一致,与北京市临床分离株一致。     

PCR-焦磷酸测序检测单核细胞增生李斯特氏菌研究

目的 建立结合PCR-焦磷酸测序检测单核细胞增生李斯特氏菌的方法.方法 根据单核细胞增生李斯特氏菌的hly基因设计扩增引物和测序引物,特异地扩增目的片段,再制备单链模板,在测序引物引导下进行焦磷酸测序,通过测序结果与GenBank中的hly基因序列的比对进行鉴定.结果 扩增引物和测序引物表现出良好的特异性,16株单核细胞增生李斯特氏菌菌株均扩增出大小249 bp的DNA片段,焦磷酸测序结果与hly基因序列100％匹配,而阴性对照菌株均未扩增出DNA条带,焦磷酸测序结果为阴性.结论 建立的方法特异性高,是快速从DNA序列水平上检测单核细胞增生李斯特氏菌的有效手段.     

Diversity of Listeria monocytogenes isolates from cold-smoked salmon produced in different smokehouses as assessed by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA analyses

One hundred and forty-eight Listeria monocytogenes isolates originating from vacuum packed cold-smoked salmon produced in 10 different Danish smokehouses were compared by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profiling. A total of 16 different reproducible RAPD profiles were obtained using a standardised RAPD analysis by four primers separately. The grouping of the 148 strains was exactly the same for the four primers used. For a sub-set of 20 strains typed by Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE), only one strain was allocated into a different group as compared to the grouping by RAPD typing. Different RAPD types dominated in products from different smokehouses. Some identical RAPD types were isolated in several smokehouses. In each of four smokehouses, one particular RAPD type could be repeatedly isolated from products. Each smokehouse/product carried its own specific RAPD type and this may indicate a possible persistence of closely related strains of L. monocytogenes in smokehouses.     

Monitoring transmission routes of Listeria spp. in smoked salmon production with repetitive element sequence-based PCR techniques

Various techniques have been used for tracing the transmission routes of Listeria species and for the assessment of hygiene standards in food processing plants. The potential of repetitive element sequence-based PCR (Rep-PCR) methods (GTG? and REPI + II) for the typing of Listeria isolates (n = 116), including Listeria monocytogenes (n = 46), was evaluated in a particular situation arising from the relocation of a company producing cold-smoked salmon. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using three restriction enzymes (ApaI, AscI, and SmaI) was used for comparison. Identical transmission scenarios among two companies could be identified by cluster analysis of L. monocytogenes isolates that were indistinguishable by both Rep-PCR and PFGE. The calculated diversity index (DI) indicates that Rep-PCR subtyping of Listeria species with primer sets GTG? and REPI + II has a lower discrimination power than does PFGE. When concatenated Rep-PCR cluster analysis was used, the DI increased from 0.934 (REPI + II) and 0.923 (GTG?) to 0.956. The discrimination power of this method was similar to that of PFGE typing based on restriction enzyme Apa I (DI = 0.955). Listeria welshimeri may be useful as an indicator for monitoring smoked salmon processing environments. Rep-PCR meets the expectations of a reasonable, fast, and low-cost molecular subtyping method for the routine monitoring of Listeria species. The discriminatory power as characterized by the DI sufficiently quantifies the probability of unrelated isolates being characterized as different subtypes. Therefore, Rep-PCR typing based on two primer systems (GTG? and REPI + II) may be a useful tool for monitoring industrial hygiene.     

High-resolution genotyping of Listeria monocytogenes by fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis compared to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis, ribotyping, and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis

The purpose of this study was to evaluate fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis for the inter- and intraspecies differentiation of a collection of 96 strains of Listeria monocytogenes and 10 non-L. monocytogenes strains representing six other Listeria species of different origin. The AFLP technique was compared with three other molecular typing methods--ribotyping, random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis (RAPD), and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE)--in terms of discriminatory ability. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism was included for virulence gene allele characterization. The 96 L. monocytogenes strains were divided into two major clusters by AFLP fingerprinting at a similarity level of 82% in concordance with the results of PFGE, RAPD, and ribotyping. One main cluster consisted of all of the 24 L. monocytogenes hly allele 1 strains, while another main cluster consisted of all of the 72 L. monocytogenes hly allele 2 strains. This indicates the existence of two distinct phylogenetic divisions. Isolates of the remaining Listeria species were not included in the clusters. AFLP, PFGE, and RAPD typing were highly discriminatory methods, with discrimination (D) indices of 0.974, 0.969, and 0.954, respectively, whereas ribotyping had a lower D index of 0.874. AFLP, PFGE, and RAPD typing showed some level of agreement in terms of strain grouping and differentiation. However, all three methods subdivided types of strains grouped by the other methods. Isolates with identical DNA profiles were distributed across the spectrum of origin. It was not possible to associate certain types with specific food sectors or clinical cases, which is indicative of the spread of L. monocytogenes clones across species. Overall, AFLP fingerprinting was suitable for the high-resolution genotyping of L. monocytogenes and had an equally high or higher differentiation power compared to PFGE or RAPD typing.     

A rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assay for the identification of Listeria monocytogenes in food samples.

A rapid and simple assay has been developed which allows specific detection of Listeria monocytogenes within 3.5 h in cultures prepared from suspect food samples and propagated 48 h in selective medium. The assay is based on PCR technology, and uses a specific primer set derived from sequences located down-stream of the hlyA gene. The specificity of the primer set was confirmed by testing 115 L. monocytogenes, 14 L. innocua, 5 L. seeligeri and 4 L. ivanovii isolates. The assay was compared to standard microbiological tests and gave identical results for 83 food samples, including 32 positives. These field trials indicate that the assay developed provides an alternative detection system for L. monocytogenes in foods, which can be used by the food industry.     

Use of molecular tools to characterize Lactobacillus spp. isolated from Greek traditional fermented sausages

In this study, our purpose was to molecular characterize Lactobacillus strains isolated from naturally fermented sausages, produced in three different processing plants in continental Greece, in order to investigate the differences of strains coming from different producing areas. Three-hundred and thirty eight strains were isolated throughout the fermentation periods on MRS. They were identified by species-specific PCR and sequencing of partial 16S rRNA gene. The results obtained highlighted that the main populations involved in the fermentations studied belonged to the species Lactobacillus sakei, Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus curvatus. However, for each of the fermentations, the percentage of isolation for the three main species was different. Molecular characterization of these strains was performed by RAPD-PCR with primer M13 and cluster analysis was applied to define relations and degrees of similarities between strains. This analysis led to the understanding that some strains were plant-specific, whereas others shared a degree of homology independently of the provenience. This evidence is highlighting the capability of the strains to adapt to specific production condition, becoming the main responsible for the transformations, thereby influencing the final characteristics of the sausages.