Scientific journal

Journal of Food and Nutrition Research
Online First Articles

Tomáštíková, Z. – Gelbíčová, T. – Karpíšková, R.
Population structure of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from human listeriosis cases and from ready-to-eat foods in the Czech Republic


Zuzana Tomáštíková, Department of Bacteriology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, 621 00 Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Milk Hygiene and Technology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Palackého 1946/1-3, 61242 Brno, Czech Republic. E-mail: tomastikova@vri.cz, tel.: +420 605 009 226

Received 4 July 2018; 1st revised 27 September 2018; accepted 28 September 2018; published online 1 March 2019

Summary: The study investigated population structure of Listeria monocytogenes strains originating from human listeriosis cases and from ready-to-eat (RTE) foods in the Czech Republic in 2013–2016. A total of 117 isolates, both from sporadic and epidemic cases, and 128 isolates mainly from meat and dairy products were characterized using serotyping and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST). Serotypes 1/2a, 1/2b, 1/2c and 4b were detected with serotype 1/2a prevailing both in the human population (57.3 %) and in foods (54.7 %). MLST detected 32 sequence types (STs) belonging to 28 clonal complexes (CCs) with STs occurring exclusively in humans, in foods and simultaneously in foods and humans. Phylogenetic analysis revealed strains belonging to the evolutionary lineages I and II. The population structure of L. monocytogenes showed a high level of heterogeneity. Strains of lineage I and II showed the same potential to cause listeriosis in human population. Strains of ST8 (serotype 1/2a) and ST6 (serotype 4b) were dominant among human isolates. Strains of ST121 (1/2a), ST8 (1/2a), ST2 (4b) and ST3 (1/2b) prevailed in food isolates. Within the study, 16 STs were detected, the presence of which in RTE foods can pose an increased risk of illness to consumers in the Czech Republic.

Keywords: Listeria monocytogenes; serotyping; multi-locus sequence typing; sequence type; clonal complex

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