The Relationship between Biofilm Phenotypes and Biofilm-Associated Genes in Food-Related Strains.

is an important pathogen responsible for listeriosis, a serious foodborne illness associated with high mortality rates. Therefore, is considered a challenge for the food industry due to the ability of some strains to persist in food-associated environments. Biofilm production is presumed to contribute to increased resistance and persistence. The aims of this study were to (1) assess the biofilm formation of isolates from a meat processing facility and sheep farm previously characterized and subjected to whole-genome sequencing and (2) perform a comparative genomic analysis to compare the biofilm formation and the presence of a known set of biofilm-associated genes and related resistance or persistence markers. Among the 37 isolates of 15 sequence types and four serogroups involved in this study, 14%, 62%, and 24% resulted in the formation of weak, moderate, and strong biofilm, respectively. Increased biofilm-forming ability was associated with the presence of the stress survival islet 1 (SSI-1), L, and the truncated A genes. Combining the phenotypic and genotypic data may contribute to understanding the relationships between biofilm-associated genes and biofilm-forming ability, enabling improvement in the control of this foodborne pathogen.