Objective
Although the rate of food contamination with Listeria monocytogenes is low, the mortality rate that is caused by this microorganism is high,
and for this reason, it is placed on the top of the list of pathogens of concern for the public health and consequently for the food industry. L.
monocytogenes has emerged as a food-borne pathogen the last decades, due to changes in food processing, consumer habits and the
demand for minimally processed foods. The molecular mechanism of virulence has gained a lot of attention and many steps of this
complex process have been elucidated to various levels. All L. monocytogenes strains found in foods should be considered to be
pathogenic. However, the relative virulence of individual L. monocytogenes isolates can vary substantially. The genetic basis underlying
these virulence differences is not yet understood. Differences in gene content exist between strains of different serovars and origins.
Differences among strains could also be due to different gene expression/regulation of the core genes of the microorganism. The ability to
rapidly determine the pathogenic potential of L. monocytogenes strains is integral to the control and prevention campaign against
listeriosis. Throughout the years, different approaches have been employed to assess virulence: in vivo bioassays, in vitro cell assays and
targeting virulence-associated proteins and genes. However, these methods have disadvantages such as the need for laboratory animals
(bioassays) and the time constraints. Furthermore, targeting virulence genes gives only an indication of the virulence potential of strains.
Nowadays, powerful alternatives such as microarrays and reverse transcriptional quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) are
available that can assist in the definition of the virulence potential of L. monocyotogenes strains by the means of modelling.
Fields of science
Call for proposal
FP7-PEOPLE-2011-CIG
See other projects for this call
Coordinator
10124 Torino
Italy