Listeria innocua
Species of bacterium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Listeria innocua is a species of Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria. It is motile, facultatively anaerobic, and non-spore-forming. L. innocua was named innocua (innocuous) because, in contrast to Listeria monocytogenes, it does not readily cause disease in mammals.[1] Another Listeria species, L. seeligeri, was named after one of the discoverers of L. innocua.[2]
| Listeria innocua | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Kingdom: | Bacillati |
| Phylum: | Bacillota |
| Class: | Bacilli |
| Order: | Bacillales |
| Family: | Listeriaceae |
| Genus: | Listeria |
| Species: | L. innocua |
| Binomial name | |
| Listeria innocua (ex Seeliger and Schoofs 1979) Seeliger 1983 | |
Biochemically, L. innocua is very similar to L. monocytogenes, except that L. innocua is usually non-hemolytic,[3][4] arylamidase-positive, and phosphoinositide phospholipase C-negative.[5] Although it is not generally considered a human pathogen, L. innocua was identified in 2003 as the cause of death of a 62-year-old, otherwise healthy, woman.[6]
As with other species in the genus, L. innocua occurs commonly in the environment (such as soil) and in food.[7] Strains of L. innocua have been shown to be able to form biofilms.[8] L. innocua has been tested and used as a laboratory surrogate for pathogenic L. monocytogenes in studies involving thermal, irradiation, and high-pressure processing of food.[9][10][11]
Knowledge of the structure of L. innocua was refined during the 2000s to help distinguish it from L. monocytogenes.[4] L. innocua may inhibit detection of L. monocytogenes if both species are present.[12] One study found that L. monocytogenes was detected in 5.4% of inoculated beef broth samples when L. innocua was also present.[13]