Single point mutation in Listeria monocytogenes

I don’t call the people I work with the Powell lab. I don’t like saying my daughters or my wife; I don’t own them, I didn’t buy them at the mall, I just hang out with them, and refer to them by name.

There’s an Irish dude wants to go by the name the Sleator lab in his press listeriareleases.

The Sleator lab has shown that the bacterium protects itself from such stresses by twisting into a protective corkscrew type shape in an effort to reduce its exposure to the stress—in the same way a human might wrap up tight—hugging the core to reduce the effects of the cold. Furthermore, Sleator and colleagues have identified a single point mutation (out of a total of 3 million or so nucleotides that constitute the entire listerial genome), which dramatically improves the growth of the pathogen in the refrigerator.” The research paper, “A single point mutation in the listerial betL σA-dependent promoter leads to improved osmo- and chill-tolerance and a morphological shift at elevated osmolarity,” will be published in the November/December 2013 issue of Bioengineered. It is available open access ahead of press: http://www.landesbioscience.com/journals/bioe/article/24094/

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About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time