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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Environmental Microbial & Food Safety Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #334212
Research Project: Characterization and Mitigation of Bacterial Pathogens in the Fresh Produce Production and Processing Continuum

Location: Environmental Microbial & Food Safety Laboratory

Title: Enhanced biofilm formation in dual-species culture of Listeria monocytogenes and Ralstonia insidiosa

Author
item XU, YUNFENG - Northwest Agricultural University
item Nagy, Attila
item Bauchan, Gary
item XIA, XIAODONG - Northwest Agricultural University
item Nou, Xiangwu

Submitted to: AIMS Environmental Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/27/2017
Publication Date: 9/12/2017
Citation: Xu, Y., Nagy, A., Bauchan, G.R., Xia, X., Nou, X. 2017. Enhanced biofilm formation in dual-species culture of Listeria monocytogenes and Ralstonia insidiosa. AIMS Environmental Science. 3(4):774-783.

Interpretive Summary: Many microorganisms coexist in communities as biofilms on foods or in food processing environments. This study shows that foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes forms more biofilms when grown together with an environmental bacteriaum Ralstonia insidiosa. The interactions between these two bacteria requires cell-cell contact. Similar interactions can be a mechanism for the persistence of foodborne pathogens in the environment. The findings enhance understanding of microbial interactions for scientists conducting pathogenic microbial assessment studies in food and food processing environments.

Technical Abstract: In the environment, many microorganisms coexist in communities as biofilms. The objective of this study was to investigate the interactions between Listeria monocytogenes and Ralstonia insidiosa in dual species biofilms. Biofilm development was measured using crystal violet in 96-well microtiter plate. Scanning electron microscopy and cell enumeration were employed after growth on stainless steel coupons. When compared with their single species counterparts, the dual species biofilms exhibited a significant increase in biofilm biomass. The number of L. monocytogenes in co-culture biofilms on stainless steel also increased significantly. However, there is no effect on the biofilm formation of L. monocytogenes when cultured with R. insidiosa separated by a semi-permeable membrane-linked compartment or cultured in R. insidiosa cell-free supernatant, indicating the interaction is dependent of cell-cell contact.