Listeria monocytogenes is an occasionally persistent food pathogen that finds a niche in dairy products such as soft ripened cheeses.
The goal of this project is to further our understanding of the survival and persistence of L. monocytogenes in dairy systems to better
strategize for its control and sanitation. We will examine the biofilm forming ability and antimicrobial tolerance, and compare the
genotypes and gene expression of 88 L. monocytogenes isolates that were collected from five dairy processing facilities in British
Columbia over the course of 10 years.
• Objective 1: Screen L. monocytogenes strains previously isolated from dairy environments for their relative
biofilm forming ability
• Objective 2: Compare predicted heavy metal tolerance from whole genome sequencing (WGS) to phenotypic
expression against cadmium and silver
• Objective 3: Determine sanitizer tolerance and antibiotic susceptibility of L. monocytogenes strains from dairy
processing environments
