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Influence Of Lipoteichoic Acid On Listeria Monocytogenes Biofilm Formation And Cellular Stress, Imelda T. Brooks

Doctoral Dissertations

Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) is an important polymer on the surface of Gram-positive organisms, including the foodborne, biofilm-forming pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, and is connected to the cell membrane through a glycolipid backbone. Previous results have shown the importance of LTA in cell viability and biofilm formation. The purpose of this research is to further investigate the influence of LTA in L. monocytogenes biofilm formation and how the bacterium responds to environmental stress caused by antimicrobial exposures, and a combination of low temperature and high osmolarity. We created in frame deletion mutants along the operon lmo-2555-lmo2554-lmo2553, which have been shown …