Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris, Inserm U1117, Biology of Infection Unit, 75015, Paris, France.
University Hospital of Poitiers, Infectious Agents Department, Bacteriology and Infection Control Laboratory, 86021, Poitiers, France.
Nat Commun. 2021 Nov 24;12(1):6826. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-27069-y.
Listeria genus comprises two pathogenic species, L. monocytogenes (Lm) and L. ivanovii, and non-pathogenic species. All can thrive as saprophytes, whereas only pathogenic species cause systemic infections. Identifying Listeria species' respective biotopes is critical to understand the ecological contribution of Listeria virulence. In order to investigate the prevalence and abundance of Listeria species in various sources, we retrieved and analyzed 16S rRNA datasets from MG-RAST metagenomic database. 26% of datasets contain Listeria sensu stricto sequences, and Lm is the most prevalent species, most abundant in soil and host-associated environments, including 5% of human stools. Lm is also detected in 10% of human stool samples from an independent cohort of 900 healthy asymptomatic donors. A specific microbiota signature is associated with Lm faecal carriage, both in humans and experimentally inoculated mice, in which it precedes Lm faecal carriage. These results indicate that Lm faecal carriage is common and depends on the gut microbiota, and suggest that Lm faecal carriage is a crucial yet overlooked consequence of its virulence.
李斯特菌属包括两种致病种，单核细胞增生李斯特菌（Lm）和伊氏李斯特菌，以及非致病种。所有种都可以作为腐生物生存，而只有致病种会引起全身感染。确定李斯特菌种的各自生境对于理解李斯特菌毒力的生态贡献至关重要。为了调查各种来源中李斯特菌属的流行情况和丰度，我们从 MG-RAST 宏基因组数据库中检索和分析了 16S rRNA 数据集。26%的数据集包含严格意义上的李斯特菌序列，Lm 是最常见的物种，在土壤和宿主相关环境中最为丰富，包括 5%的人类粪便。在来自 900 名健康无症状供体的独立队列的 10%的人类粪便样本中也检测到了 Lm。在人和实验接种的小鼠中，与 Lm 粪便携带相关的特定微生物群特征，它先于 Lm 粪便携带。这些结果表明，Lm 粪便携带很常见，并且取决于肠道微生物群，这表明 Lm 粪便携带是其毒力的一个关键但被忽视的后果。
