Soil Collected from a Single Great Smoky Mountains Trail Contains a Diversity of Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria spp.

Listeria monocytogenes, a foodborne pathogen, and other spp. are present in natural environments. Isolating and characterizing strains from natural reservoirs can provide insight into the prevalence and diversity of spp. in these environments, elucidate their contribution to contamination of agricultural and food processing environments and food products, and lead to the discovery of novel species. In this study, we evaluated the diversity of spp. isolated from soil in a small region of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most biodiverse national park in the U.S. National Park system. Of the 17 isolates recovered, whole-genome sequencing revealed that 14 were distinct strains. The strains represented a diversity of species (L. monocytogenes [ = 9], L. cossartiae subsp. [ = 1], L. marthii [ = 1], L. booriae [ = 1], and a potentially novel sp. [ = 2]), as well as a diversity of sequence types based on multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and core genome MLST, including many novel designations. The isolates were not closely related (≥99.99% average nucleotide identity) to any isolates in public databases (NCBI, PATRIC), which also indicated novelty. The samples isolated in this study were collected from high-elevation sites near a creek that ultimately leads to the Mississippi River; thus, present in this natural environment could potentially travel downstream to a large region that includes portions of nine southeastern and midwestern U.S. states. This study provides insight into the diversity of spp. in the Great Smoky Mountains and indicates that this environment is a reservoir of novel spp. Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen that can cause serious systemic illness that, although rare, usually results in hospitalization and has a relatively high mortality rate compared to other foodborne pathogens. Identification of novel and diverse spp. can provide insights into the genomic evolution, ecology, and evolution and variance of pathogenicity of this genus, especially in natural environments. Comparing L. monocytogenes and spp. isolates from natural environments, such as those recovered in this study, to contamination and/or outbreak strains may provide more information about the original natural sources of these strains and the pathways and mechanisms that lead to contamination of food products and agricultural or food processing environments.