Comparative Genomics of the Listeria monocytogenes ST204 Subgroup

Fox, Edward M., Allnutt, Theodore, Bradbury, Mark I., Fanning, Séamus and Chandry, P. Scott (2016) Comparative Genomics of the Listeria monocytogenes ST204 Subgroup. Frontiers in Microbiology, 7. ISSN 1664-302X

[img]
Preview
Text (Full text)
Fox et al - Comparative genomics of the Listeria monocytogenes ST204 subgroup OA.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

Download (4MB) | Preview
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2016.02057

Abstract

The ST204 subgroup of Listeria monocytogenes is among the most frequently isolated in Australia from a range of environmental niches. In this study we provide a comparative genomics analysis of food and food environment isolates from geographically diverse sources. Analysis of the ST204 genomes showed a highly conserved core genome with the majority of variation seen in mobile genetic elements such as plasmids, transposons and phage insertions. Most strains (13/15) harbored plasmids, which although varying in size contained highly conserved sequences. Interestingly 4 isolates contained a conserved plasmid of 91,396 bp. The strains examined were isolated over a period of 12 years and from different geographic locations suggesting plasmids are an important component of the genetic repertoire of this subgroup and may provide a range of stress tolerance mechanisms. In addition to this 4 phage insertion sites and 2 transposons were identified among isolates, including a novel transposon. These genetic elements were highly conserved across isolates that harbored them, and also contained a range of genetic markers linked to stress tolerance and virulence. The maintenance of conserved mobile genetic elements in the ST204 population suggests these elements may contribute to the diverse range of niches colonized by ST204 isolates. Environmental stress selection may contribute to maintaining these genetic features, which in turn may be co-selecting for virulence markers relevant to clinical infection with ST204 isolates.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Listeria monocytogenes, comparative genomics, MLST, whole genome sequencing, ST204, plasmid
Subjects: C400 Genetics
C500 Microbiology
Department: Faculties > Health and Life Sciences > Applied Sciences
Depositing User: Paul Burns
Date Deposited: 05 Apr 2019 15:56
Last Modified: 01 Aug 2021 12:17
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/38818

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics