Competitive and/or Cooperative Interactions of Listeria monocytogenes With Bacillus cereus in Dual-Species Biofilm Formation

Abstract

Microorganisms in dairy industries can form monospecies, dual-species, or multispecies biofilms, showing cooperative or competitive behaviors, which might contribute to the reduction of efficiency of cleaning and sanitization processes and eventually turn into a potential source of contamination. This study proposes to evaluate the behavior of Listeria monocytogenes in monospecies biofilms, cocultured with Bacillus cereus. The isolates were of dairy origin, and the selection occurred after studies of competition among species. The biofilm formations on AISI 304 stainless steel at 25 • C in a stationary culture were analyzed to observe the cooperative or competitive interactions among species, as well as the effect of pre-adhered cells. Biofilm formation assays were performed in four experiments: Experiment 1: in the presence of strains of antagonistic substance producer B. cereus (+); Experiment 2: extract of the antagonistic substance of B. cereus; Experiment 3: pre-adhered cells of B. cereus; and Experiment 4: pre-adhered cells of L. monocytogenes. Subsequently, cooperative behavior was observed by scanning electron microscopy. The L. monocytogenes monospecies biofilm counts of greater than 5 log colony-forming units (CFU)/cm 2 were also observed in dual-species biofilms in the presence of B. cereus (non-producers of antagonist substance), showing cooperative behavior between species. However, in the presence of antagonistic substance produced by B. cereus, the counts were lower, 1.39 and 1.70 log CFU/cm 2 (p > 0.05), indicating that the antagonistic substance contributes to competitive interactions. These data are relevant for the development of new studies to control L. monocytogenes in the dairy industry.

Target-based screening for natural products against Staphylococcus aureus biofilms

“…In the food industry, the formation of biofilms in piping, equipment or heat exchangers can lead to the potential for metal corrosion, a decrease in operational efficiencies of equipment and an increase in maintenance costs (Xu et al 2018). On the global scale, the annual impact of biofilms is incalculable, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars or more in food industries (Alonso, Harada, and Kabuki 2020;Cattò and Cappitelli 2019). Furthermore, biofilm formation occurs not only on environmental processing surfaces but also on food itself, leading to potential for cross-contamination and foodborne illness.…”

Characterization of Binary Biofilms of Listeria monocytogenes and Lactobacillus and Their Response to Chlorine Treatment

“…Similarly, competitive advantage was demonstrated for V. parahaemolyticus when with Lm cells because its favorable location on the surface layers resulted in overgrowing the partner strain (Chen et al, 2019). Likewise, in the presence of the antagonist produced by B. cereus, the number of Lm cells was lower, contributing to competitive interactions (Alonso et al, 2020). However, the number of cells was again higher in the presence of non-antagonist producers, suggesting a cooperative behavior between species.…”

Rhizobacteria Impact Colonization of Listeria monocytogenes on Arabidopsis thaliana Roots

“… L. monocytogenes 10403S’ ability to coexist with our initial panel of four rhizobacteria was intriguing, as much of the literature often highlights antagonistic outcomes ( 72 , 73 ); however, neutral and beneficial outcomes are also frequently observed ( 39 ). Of the 125 rhizobacteria we tested in adjacent agar coculture with L. monocytogenes , only 18 had visible signs of antagonism toward 10403S.…”