Listeria weihenstephanensis

General Information

Listeria weihenstephanensis is a species of bacteria that belongs to the genus Listeria. This microorganism is particularly interesting due to its psychrotolerant nature, meaning it can thrive at low temperatures, which is a trait that distinguishes it from many other Listeria species. This characteristic makes L. weihenstephanensis a subject of significant interest in food safety and preservation research, as it can survive and even grow in refrigerated environments where other pathogens might not. Another notable feature of L. weihenstephanensis is its ability to adapt to various environmental stresses, which is crucial for its survival in diverse habitats. This adaptability is linked to its robust genetic makeup, which includes genes that confer resistance to cold and other stress conditions. Researchers are particularly interested in these genetic traits as they can provide insights into the mechanisms of stress resistance and survival in extreme conditions. From a biotechnological perspective, L. weihenstephanensis holds potential due to its metabolic versatility. It can utilize a wide range of substrates for growth, which could be harnessed for various industrial applications, including bioremediation and the production of valuable biochemicals. In summary, Listeria weihenstephanensis is a fascinating microorganism due to its psychrotolerance, environmental adaptability, and metabolic versatility, making it a valuable subject for research in food safety, environmental microbiology, and biotechnology.

Listeria weihenstephanensis is a fascinating species within the genus Listeria, known for its ability to thrive in a variety of environments, including those with low temperatures. This psychrotolerant bacterium is particularly interesting due to its resilience and adaptability, which allow it to survive in food products and environments that are typically inhospitable to many other microorganisms. One of the unique aspects of L. weihenstephanensis is its association with food safety. It has been implicated in foodborne illnesses, particularly in dairy products and ready-to-eat meats. This makes it a significant organism for research in food microbiology, as understanding its behavior can help in developing better preservation methods and safety protocols to prevent listeriosis, a serious infection caused by the consumption of contaminated food. Additionally, L. weihenstephanensis has been studied for its genetic diversity and evolutionary relationships within the Listeria genus. Its genome has been sequenced, providing insights into its metabolic pathways and virulence factors, which are crucial for understanding how it interacts with host organisms and contributes to disease. Furthermore, this species is of interest in the field of biotechnology. Its ability to grow at refrigeration temperatures opens up potential applications in the development of biopreservation techniques, where it could be used to inhibit the growth of more pathogenic bacteria in food products. In summary, Listeria weihenstephanensis stands out due to its psychrotolerance, implications in food safety, contributions to biotechnology, and its role in understanding the evolutionary dynamics of the Listeria genus, making it a valuable subject for ongoing research.

Taxonomy

Superkingdom: Bacteria

Phylum: Bacillota

Class: Bacilli

Order: Bacillales

Family: Listeriaceae

Genus: Listeria

Species: Listeria weihenstephanensis

NCBI ID

1006155

Genome Info

FTP Path:
ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genomes/all/GCF/003/534/205/GCF_003534205.1_Lweihen2.0

File for sequence-based predictions:
GCF_003534205.1_Lweihen2.0_genomic.fasta

Descriptions

Clinical Implications and Relevance

Source: gpt-4o-mini-2024-07-18

The organism Listeria weihenstephanensis is a member of the genus Listeria, which is known for its clinical significance in foodborne illnesses. This bacterium is primarily associated with listeriosis, a serious infection that can occur when contaminated food is consumed. Listeria weihenstephanensis has been implicated in outbreaks linked to various food products, particularly dairy and ready-to-eat meats, highlighting its role as a potential pathogen in the food industry. In terms of pathogenicity, Listeria weihenstephanensis exhibits similar virulence factors to its more well-known relative, Listeria monocytogenes. It can invade host cells, evade the immune response, and replicate intracellularly, which contributes to its ability to cause disease. The organism's ability to survive and grow at refrigeration temperatures poses a significant challenge for food safety. Moreover, there is growing concern regarding antimicrobial resistance among Listeria species, including Listeria weihenstephanensis. Resistance to commonly used antibiotics can complicate treatment options for listeriosis, making it crucial for healthcare providers to be aware of potential resistance patterns. While Listeria weihenstephanensis is not as extensively studied as Listeria monocytogenes, its presence in clinical and food safety contexts underscores the need for ongoing surveillance and research. Understanding its interactions with the human body and its potential to cause infections is essential for developing effective prevention and control strategies in both clinical and food production settings.

Habitat and Ecological Niches

Source: gpt-4o-mini-2024-07-18

Listeria weihenstephanensis is a bacterium commonly associated with various terrestrial and aquatic environments. This microorganism thrives particularly in food-related habitats, such as dairy products, vegetables, and meats, where it can often be found in contaminated food sources. Its ability to grow at refrigeration temperatures allows it to persist in cold environments, making it a significant concern in food safety and public health. In terms of ecological roles, Listeria weihenstephanensis is known for its saprophytic lifestyle, where it decomposes organic matter, contributing to nutrient cycling within its habitat. This bacterium can also exhibit pathogenic behavior, particularly in immunocompromised hosts, leading to listeriosis, which underscores its importance in human health. The organism demonstrates remarkable environmental adaptability, allowing it to survive in a range of conditions, from high-salinity environments to low-oxygen niches. Its interactions with other microorganisms can include competitive exclusion and biofilm formation, which can influence the microbial community structure in its habitats. Overall, Listeria weihenstephanensis plays a complex role in its ecosystems, balancing between being a decomposer and a potential pathogen.

Industrial Application

Source: gpt-4o-mini-2024-07-18

The microorganism Listeria weihenstephanensis has shown potential in various industrial applications, particularly in the fields of biotechnology and food safety. This organism is known for its ability to survive in diverse environments, which makes it a candidate for use in biodegradation processes, particularly in the breakdown of organic waste. Its resilience allows it to thrive in conditions that may be inhospitable for other microorganisms, making it valuable in waste management strategies aimed at reducing environmental pollution. In the realm of food safety, Listeria weihenstephanensis is significant due to its role in the spoilage of food products. Understanding its metabolic pathways can lead to the development of better preservation techniques and methods to inhibit its growth in food processing environments. This can enhance the safety and shelf-life of perishable goods, thereby benefiting the food industry. Moreover, there is ongoing research into the potential use of Listeria weihenstephanensis in pharmaceutical development. Its unique properties may be harnessed for the production of bioactive compounds or as a model organism for studying pathogenicity and resistance mechanisms, which could inform the development of new therapeutic agents. Overall, while Listeria weihenstephanensis is primarily recognized for its implications in food safety, its applications in biodegradation, waste treatment, and potential roles in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals highlight its versatility and importance in various industrial sectors.

Phenotypes and Predictions

The table shows the phenotypes and predictions. Cell colors indicate the class of the value. When literature-based data is available, a checkmark (✓) indicates a correct prediction, while an ✗ indicates an incorrect prediction.

Literature-based phenotypes: 9

LLM predicted phenotypes: 4

Phenotype	High-quality annotation	google/gemini-pro	google/palm-2-chat-bison-32k	anthropic/claude-3-haiku:beta	google/gemini-pro-1.5	google/gemini-pro-1.5	mistralai/mistral-7b-instruct	meta-llama/llama-3-8b-instruct:nitro	mistralai/mixtral-8x7b-instruct:nitro	perplexity/llama-3-sonar-small-32k-chat	openchat/openchat-7b	meta-llama/llama-3-70b-instruct:nitro	openai/gpt-4	openai/gpt-4	openai/gpt-4o	openai/gpt-4o	google/gemini-flash-1.5	google/gemini-flash-1.5	google/gemma-7b-it	google/gemma-7b-it	openai/gpt-3.5-turbo-0125	openai/gpt-3.5-turbo-0125	microsoft/wizardlm-2-8x22b	microsoft/wizardlm-2-8x22b	microsoft/phi-3-mini-128k-instruct	microsoft/phi-3-mini-128k-instruct	anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet	anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet
Motility	TRUE	true ✓	true ✓	true ✓	true ✓	true ✓	false ✗	true ✓	false ✗	true ✓	true ✓	true ✓	true ✓	true ✓	true ✓	true ✓	true ✓	true ✓	true ✓	true ✓	true ✓	true ✓	true ✓	true ✓	false ✗	false ✗	true ✓	true ✓
Gram staining	gram stain positive	gram stain positive ✓	gram stain positive ✓	gram stain positive ✓	N/A	gram stain positive ✓	gram stain positive ✓	gram stain negative ✗	gram stain positive ✓	gram stain positive ✓	gram stain positive ✓	gram stain positive ✓	N/A	gram stain positive ✓	N/A	gram stain positive ✓	N/A	gram stain positive ✓	N/A	gram stain negative ✗	N/A	gram stain positive ✓	N/A	gram stain positive ✓	N/A	gram stain negative ✗	N/A	gram stain positive ✓
Aerophilicity	anaerobic	facultatively anaerobic ✗	N/A	N/A	facultatively anaerobic ✗	facultatively anaerobic ✗	facultatively anaerobic ✗	N/A	facultatively anaerobic ✗	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	facultatively anaerobic ✗	facultatively anaerobic ✗	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Extreme environment tolerance	FALSE	false ✓	false ✓	true ✗	true ✗	true ✗	true ✗	true ✗	true ✗	false ✓	false ✓	true ✗	false ✓	false ✓	true ✗	true ✗	false ✓	false ✓	true ✗	true ✗	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	true ✗	true ✗
Biofilm formation	N/A	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true
Animal pathogenicity	N/A	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	false	true	true	true	false	false	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	false	false
Biosafety level	biosafety level 1	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 1 ✓	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 2 ✗	biosafety level 1 ✓	biosafety level 1 ✓
Health association	N/A	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	false	false	true	true	true	true	true	true
Host association	N/A	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	false	false	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	true	false	false
Plant pathogenicity	FALSE	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓
Spore formation	FALSE	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	true ✗	false ✓	true ✗	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓	false ✓
Hemolysis	gamma	beta ✗	beta ✗	beta ✗	beta ✗	beta ✗	N/A	beta ✗	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	beta ✗	beta ✗	beta ✗	beta ✗	beta ✗	beta ✗	alpha ✗	alpha ✗	N/A	N/A	beta ✗	beta ✗	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Cell shape	bacillus	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	coccus ✗	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓	bacillus ✓

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