Biofilm-producing ability of Listeria monocytogenes isolates from Brazilian cheese processing plants

- Evaluation of biofilms produced by 85 L. monocytogenes isolates from cheese plants.
- Isolates belonged to 30 PFGE pulsotypes, from which 4 were classified as persistent.
- 21 isolates produced biofilms on polystyrene microplates and stainless steel.
- Persistent pulsotypes had weak or moderate biofilm-formation ability on polystyrene.
- No relationship was found between the pulsotypes and their biofilm-forming ability.

The persistence of Listeria monocytogenes in food industry environments has been associated to the ability of specific isolates to produce biofilms. This study aimed to evaluate the biofilm production of 85 L. monocytogenes strains previously isolated from samples of cheese, brine and the environment of two cheese processing plants located in São Paulo, Brazil. The L. monocytogenes isolates belonged to serotypes 4b, 1/2b and 1/2c, yielded 30 different pulsotypes by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and were submitted to biofilm-formation assays on polystyrene microplates and stainless steel coupons incubated statically at 35 ± 0.5 °C for 48 h. All isolates from different sources showed ability to produce biofilms on polystyrene microplates, from which 21 (24.7%) also produced biofilms on stainless steel. Four isolates (4.7%) belonging to four different pulsotypes were classified as strong biofilms-producers on polystyrene microplates, while isolates belonging to four pulsotypes previously evaluated as persistent had weak or moderate ability to produce biofilms on polystyrene microplates. No relationship between the serotypes or pulsotypes and their biofilm-forming ability was observed. This study highlights the high variability in the biofilm production among L. monocytogenes strains collected from cheese and cheese-production environment, also indicating that strong biofilm-formation ability is not a key factor for persistence of specific isolates in cheese processing plants.

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