A new Listeria species from Costa Rica identified

Listeria costaricensis is the official name given to the new bacterial species described by investigators from the Costa Rican Institute of Technology (TEC) and the WHO-collaborating center on Listeria at Institut Pasteur.

Listeria is a bacterial genus comprising 18 species. Two of them are pathogenic to humans and animals, upon consumption of contaminated food. Listeria monocytogenes, the best characterized pathogenic species, can cause gastroenteritis, septicemia and central nervous system infection, mostly in immunocompromised individuals, as well as fetal and neonatal infection.

While the new species Listeria costaricensis is non-pathogenic, its characterization will nonetheless increase the understanding of the pathogenic potential of Listeria. "The discovery of Listeria costaricensis will allow comparisons with pathogenic Listeria species, in order to better understand the behavior and adaptations of these bacterial pathogens," explained TEC biotechnologist Kattia Núñez.

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Picture: Cell infected with Listeria monocytogenes