Genomic characterization of Listeria spp. isolated from tonsils, udder and feces of domestic dairy ruminants in Spain

Carla Palacios-Gorba (1) , Alexandra Moura (2, 3, 4) , Yuval Markovich (1) , Nathalie Tessaud-Rita (2, 3, 4) , Ángel Gómez-Martín (1) , Hélène Bracq-Dieye (2, 3, 4) , Jesús Gomis (1) , Guillaume Vales (2, 3, 4) , María Pastor-Martín (5) , Pierre Thouvenot (2, 3, 4) , Carles Escrig (5) , Alexandre Leclercq (2, 3, 4) , Marc Lecuit (2, 3, 4, 6, 7) , Juan J Quereda (1)

1 CEU-UCH - Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU
2 Biologie des Infections - Biology of Infection
3 CNR - Centre National de Référence Listeria - National Reference Center Listeria
4 CC-OMS / WHO-CC - Centre collaborateur de l'OMS Listeria / WHO Collaborating Centre Listeria
5 Generalitat Valenciana
6 Hôpital Necker - Enfants Malades [AP-HP]
7 Imagine - U1163 - Imagine - Institut des maladies génétiques (IHU)

Two species of Listeria are pathogenic, Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria ivanovii. Although studies have shown that dairy ruminants shed Listeria spp. in feces, there is little information about ruminants that do not shed Listeria spp. in their feces but asymptomatically carry them in organs. We evidence that ruminants can asymptomatically carry L. ivanovii in udders and L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii in tonsils without fecal shedding. Whole-genome sequence of L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii contained known core genes involved in virulence and antibiotic resistance. This work highlights tonsils and udders as a Listeria intra-host site of colonization.

Keywords: Listeria spp.; dairy; ruminant; tonsil; udder; WGS

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Human health and pathology; Infectious diseases; Microbiology and Parasitology; Bacteriology

Carla Palacios-Gorba, Alexandra Moura, Yuval Markovich, Nathalie Tessaud-Rita, Ángel Gómez-Martín, et al.. Genomic characterization of Listeria spp. isolated from tonsils, udder and feces of domestic dairy ruminants in Spain. Microbes and Infection, 2022, pp.105079. ⟨10.1016/j.micinf.2022.105079⟩. ⟨pasteur-03922761⟩