The virulence gene cluster of Listeria monocytogenes is also present in Listeria ivanovii, an animal pathogen, and Listeria seeligeri, a nonpathogenic species.
Most known Listeria monocytogenes virulence genes cluster within a 9.6-kb chromosomal region. This region is flanked on one end by two uncharacterized open reading frames (ORF A and ORF B) and ldh, an ORF presumably encoding the L. monocytogenes lactate dehydrogenase (J.-A. Vazquez-Boland, C. Kocks, S. Dramsi, H. Ohayon, C. Geoffroy, J. Mengaud, and P. Cossart, Infect. Immun. 60:219-230, 1992). We report here that the other end is flanked by prs, and ORF homologous to phosphoribosyl PPi synthetase genes. ORF B and prs were detected in all Listeria species and thus delimit the virulence region. This virulence gene cluster was detected exclusively in hemolytic Listeria species, Listeria ivanovii, an animal pathogen, and Listeria seeligeri, a nonpathogenic species.
Unité des Interactions Bactéries-Cellules, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique URA 1300, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
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Gouin
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Cossart
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008087:Listeria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D014774:Virulence