Listeria monocytogenes Genome sequencing and assembly. Listeria monocytogenes

Listeria Monocytogenes is a gram-positive organism capable of causing life-threatening infections in humans. There are 13 known serotypes within the species, but serotype 4b is heavily overrepresented among strains responsible for food-borne illness. Serotype is defined by the specific antigens present on the cell wall of the cell, but the subtle chemical identities of these antigens and whether they play a role in pathogenicity is not fully understood. To better understand the genetic basis behind serotype determination, it is necessary to have full genome sequences of other strains within serovar 4. Here we provide the full genome sequences of five non-pathogenic serovar 4 strains, representing the subtypes 4a, 4ab, 4c, 4d and 4e.