Listeria monocytogenes in a food-gastrointestinal-infection model

Listeria (L.) monocytogenes is a significant foodborne pathogen that causes listeriosis, a disease often leading to high fatality rates among the elderly, immunocompromised individuals, newborns, and fetuses. Contaminated ready-to-eat food is the primary source of listeriosis outbreaks, since there is no cooking step involved before consumption. In the current study, we assessed the impact of three different epidemiological relevant food matrices (smoked salmon, soft cheese, heat-treated non-fermented sausage) on the growth, survival and transcriptional profile of L. monocytogenes in a food-gastrointestinal-infection model. The model covered all steps of the route of infection, starting from investigating the growth of L. monocytogenes in the food matrices and the survival in the food in an artificial gastrointestinal model, towards assessing the invasion ability into human intestinal epithelial cells. The analyzed transcriptional profile supported the understanding on the behavior of L. monocytogenes in the investigated conditions. This research is essential for further risk assessment and improvement of public health.