Microbial diversity and structure are drivers of the biological barrier effect against Listeria monocytogenes in soil

Anne-Laure Vivant (1) , Dominique D. Garmyn (1) , Pierre-Alain Maron (1) , Virginie Nowak (1) , Pascal Piveteau (1)

1 Agroécologie [Dijon]

Understanding the ecology of pathogenic organisms is important in order to monitor their transmission in the environment and the related health hazards. We investigated the relationship between soil microbial diversity and the barrier effect against Listeria monocytogenes invasion. By using a dilution-to-extinction approach, we analysed the consequence of eroding microbial diversity on L. monocytogenes population dynamics under standardised conditions of abiotic parameters and microbial abundance in soil microcosms. We demonstrated that highly diverse soil microbial communities act as a biological barrier against L. monocytogenes invasion and that phylogenetic composition of the community also has to be considered. This suggests that erosion of diversity may have damaging effects regarding circulation of pathogenic microorganisms in the environment.

Mots clés: diversity; pyrosequencing; Listeria monocytogenes; survival

Mots clés: erosion; invasion; soil

Domaines: Sciences agricoles; Biodiversité et Ecologie

Anne-Laure Vivant, Dominique D. Garmyn, Pierre-Alain Maron, Virginie Nowak, Pascal Piveteau. Microbial diversity and structure are drivers of the biological barrier effect against Listeria monocytogenes in soil. PLoS ONE, 2013, 8 (10), pp.1-11. ⟨10.1371/journal.pone.0076991⟩. ⟨hal-02651036⟩