Sleator lab identifies single point mutation in Listeria monocytogenes

A characteristic feature of L. monocytogenes is its ability to grow at refrigeration temperatures and in the presence of high concentrations of salt—traditional food preservation techniques, which arrest the growth of most other pathogens.

Work in the Sleator lab has shown that the bacterium protects itself from such stresses by twisting into a protective corkscrew type shape in an effort to reduce its exposure to the stress—in the same way a human might wrap up tight—hugging the core to reduce the effects of the cold.

Furthermore, Sleator and colleagues have identified a single point mutation (out of a total of 3 million or so nucleotides that constitute the entire listerial genome), which dramatically improves the growth of the pathogen in the refrigerator.

The research paper, “A single point mutation in the listerial betL óA-dependent promoter leads to improved osmo- and chill-tolerance and a morphological shift at elevated osmolarity,” will be published in the November/December 2013 issue of Bioengineered. It is available open access ahead of press: http://www.landesbioscience.com/journals/bioe/article/24094/

Sleator claims that this mutation represents “a double edged sword;” “from a food safety perspective, a single point mutation with the potential to induce such dramatic shifts in cell growth and survival at low temperatures—making an already dangerous pathogen even more formidable—raises significant food-safety concerns which need to be addressed.” However, from a synthetic biology point of view, such a boosted-stress resistance gene represents a useful BioBrick (or building block) for the design of more physiologically robust probiotics or, indeed, plants that are more resistant to cold arid conditions.

Published by Landes Bioscience since 2010, Bioengineered publishes relevant and high-impact original research with a special focus on genetic engineering that involves the generation of recombinant strains and their metabolic products for beneficial applications in food, medicine, industry, environment and bio-defense. Established in 2002, Landes Bioscience is an Austin, Texas-based publisher of biology research journals and books. For more information on Landes Bioscience, please visit http://www.landesbioscience.com/.

Media Contact

Andrew Thompson EurekAlert!

All latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry

Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.

Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors