Isolation of <i>Listeria ivanovii</i> from Bulk-Tank Milk of Sheep and Goat Farms—From Clinical Work to Bioinformatics Studies: Prevalence, Association with Milk Quality, Antibiotic Susceptibility, Predictors, Whole Genome Sequence and Phylogenetic Relationships
Daphne T. Lianou,
Anargyros Skoulakis,
Charalambia K. Michael,
Eleni I. Katsarou,
Dimitris C. Chatzopoulos,
Nikolaos Solomakos,
Katerina Tsilipounidaki,
Zoe Florou,
Peter J. Cripps,
Angeliki I. Katsafadou,
Natalia G. C. Vasileiou,
Konstantina S. Dimoveli,
Maria V. Bourganou,
Dimitra V. Liagka,
Vasileios G. Papatsiros,
Panagiota I. Kontou,
Vasia S. Mavrogianni,
Mariangela Caroprese,
Efthymia Petinaki,
George C. Fthenakis
Affiliations
Daphne T. Lianou
Veterinary Faculty, University of Thessaly, 43100 Karditsa, Greece
Anargyros Skoulakis
Institute for Bioinnovation, BSRC Alexander Fleming, 16672 Vari, Greece
Charalambia K. Michael
Veterinary Faculty, University of Thessaly, 43100 Karditsa, Greece
Eleni I. Katsarou
Veterinary Faculty, University of Thessaly, 43100 Karditsa, Greece
Dimitris C. Chatzopoulos
Faculty of Public and One Health, University of Thessaly, 43100 Karditsa, Greece
Nikolaos Solomakos
Veterinary Faculty, University of Thessaly, 43100 Karditsa, Greece
Katerina Tsilipounidaki
University Hospital of Larissa, 41110 Larissa, Greece
Zoe Florou
University Hospital of Larissa, 41110 Larissa, Greece
Peter J. Cripps
Veterinary Faculty, University of Thessaly, 43100 Karditsa, Greece
Angeliki I. Katsafadou
Faculty of Public and One Health, University of Thessaly, 43100 Karditsa, Greece
Natalia G. C. Vasileiou
Faculty of Animal Science, University of Thessaly, 41110 Larissa, Greece
Konstantina S. Dimoveli
Veterinary Faculty, University of Thessaly, 43100 Karditsa, Greece
Maria V. Bourganou
Faculty of Public and One Health, University of Thessaly, 43100 Karditsa, Greece
Dimitra V. Liagka
Faculty of Animal Science, University of Thessaly, 41110 Larissa, Greece
Vasileios G. Papatsiros
Veterinary Faculty, University of Thessaly, 43100 Karditsa, Greece
Panagiota I. Kontou
Department of Mathematics, University of Thessaly, 35131 Lamia, Greece
Vasia S. Mavrogianni
Veterinary Faculty, University of Thessaly, 43100 Karditsa, Greece
Mariangela Caroprese
Department of Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources and Engineering (DAFNE), University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy
Efthymia Petinaki
University Hospital of Larissa, 41110 Larissa, Greece
George C. Fthenakis
Veterinary Faculty, University of Thessaly, 43100 Karditsa, Greece
A cross-sectional study was performed in 325 sheep and 119 goat dairy farms in Greece. Samples of bulk-tank milk were examined by standard microbiological techniques for Listeria spp. Listeria monocytogenes was isolated from one (0.3%) and Listeria ivanovii from three (0.9%) sheep farms. No associations between the isolation of L. monocytogenes or L. ivanovii and milk quality were found. No resistance to antibiotics was identified. Three variables emerged as significant predictors of isolation of the organism: the presence of pigs, low average relative humidity and a high number of ewes on the farm. The three L. ivanovii isolates were assessed in silico for identification of plasmids, prophages, antibiotic resistance genes, virulence factors, CRISPRs and CAS genes. Phylogenetic analysis using the core genome revealed that the three strains belonged to the L. ivanovii subsp. ivanovii branch and were especially close to the PAM 55 strain. All strains of the branch appeared to be very similar, with the distance between them being small.
