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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Microbial and Chemical Food Safety » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #265641
Title: Determination of antibiotic resistance pattern and bacteriocin sensitivity of Listeria monocytogenes strains isolated from different foods in turkey

Author
item GUNES ALTUNTAS, EVRIM - Ankara University Of Turkey
item KOCAN, DENIZ - Ankara University Of Turkey
item COSANSU, SERAP - Ankara University Of Turkey
item AYHAN, KAMURAN - Ankara University Of Turkey
item Juneja, Vijay
item MATERON, LUIS - Texas-Pan American University

Submitted to: Food and Nutrition Sciences
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/8/2012
Publication Date: 5/1/2012
Citation: Gunes Altuntas, E., Kocan, D., Cosansu, S., Ayhan, K., Juneja, V.K., Materon, L. 2012. Determination of antibiotic resistance pattern and bacteriocin sensitivity of Listeria monocytogenes strains isolated from different foods in turkey. Food and Nutrition Sciences. 3:363-368.

Interpretive Summary: One of the most common types of food poisoning in the United States is caused by the bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes. Increased use of antibiotics for therapeutic purposes may lead to the development of antibiotic resistance of the pathogen. One promising method to control L. monocytogenes, is to use bacteriocins, as a natural antimicrobial. We found that the pathogen was sensitive to antibiotics commonly used for treating listeriosis, and a bacteriocin from a lactic acid bacterium can be used as an intervention to control Listeria in foods. The information will be of immediate use to the food industry and regulatory agencies to enhance the safety of ready-to-eat foods.

Technical Abstract: This study aimed to determine the antibiotic resistance pattern and bacteriocin sensitivity of Listeria monocytogenes strains isolated from animal derived foods. With disc diffusion assay, all fourteen L. monocytogenes strains were susceptible to the antibiotics, including penicillin G, vancomycin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, rifampicin, erythromycin, gentamicin and trimethoprim. However, the percentages of fosfomycin and streptomycin resistances were 92.9 and 7.1%, respectively. Multiple resistances were not observed among the tested strains. The results of well diffusion assays showed that all strains were inhibited by the cell-free supernatant of a bacteriocin-producing strain, Pediococcus acidilactici 13, with the inhibition zones ranging from 16.00 to 24.50 mm. These results provide useful information on antibiotic resistance of L. monocytogenes strains isolated from foods, and can potentially be used to develop bacteriocin-based interventions to guard against the hazards associated with L. monocytogenes in ready-to-eat meat and poultry products.