Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD MICROBIOLOGY
Volume 394, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2023.110182
Keywords
Coagulase-positive staphylococci; Staphylococcal food poisoning outbreak; Whole genome sequencing; Liquid chromatography -mass spectrometry; Enterotoxin
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In this study, two coagulase-positive non-pigmented staphylococci involved in separate outbreaks were characterized as Staphylococcus argenteus by whole genome sequencing. Enterotoxin genes were analyzed in the genomes and their expression was determined in laboratory medium and artificially-contaminated milk samples. The study sheds light on the enterotoxigenic properties of S. argenteus and highlights the importance of monitoring it as an emerging foodborne pathogen.
Staphylococcal enterotoxins preformed in food are the causative agents of staphylococcal food poisoning out-breaks (SFPO). In this study we characterised in depth two coagulase-positive non-pigmented staphylococci involved in two independent outbreaks that occurred in France. While indistinguishable from Staphylococcus aureus using PCR methods and growth phenotype comparisons, both isolates were identified as Staphylococcus argenteus by whole genome sequencing. The genomes were analysed for the presence of enterotoxin genes, whose expression was determined in laboratory medium and, for the first time, in artificially-contaminated milk samples by using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and ELISA methods. The concentration measured for the SEB toxin in milk (0.67 ng/ml) was comparable to concentrations reported for other types of enterotoxins behind SFPO. From a collection of publicly available genomes, we performed an unprecedented systematic investigation of the enterotoxin gene set of S. argenteus, including variants and pseudogenes. The most prevalent genes were sex, followed by sel26, sel27 and sey. The egc cluster was less frequent and most of the time carried a dysfunctional seg gene. Our results shed light on the enterotoxigenic properties of S. argenteus, and emphasize the importance in monitoring of S. argenteus as an emerging foodborne pathogen.
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