The detection tests commonly used to check for the absence of microbes in hospitals or the agri-food industry are based on microbial growth, i.e. the laboratory cultivation of microorganisms from a sample to be checked.
If no micro-organisms appear during culturing, the sample is considered safe. But faced with the multiple stresses encountered in these environments (presence of disinfectants or detergents), some bacteria enter a dormant state, known as "viable but non-culturable" (VBNC), making them undetectable by growth-based tests. Pathogenic bacteria in a VBNC state can "wake up", become virulent again and thus represent a serious health hazard.
Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium that is ubiquitous in the environment (soil, rivers, lakes, plants). It is responsible for listeriosis, a food-borne disease with a mortality rate of up to 30% in humans. Previous studies have shown that this bacterium is capable of entering a VBNC state when exposed to artificial aquatic environments, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood.
This is why the research team set out to better understand this phenomenon, in order to develop effective detection and elimination strategies. A change of form in dormancy and a test to detect them To understand the mechanisms behind the dormancy of L. monocytogenes , the scientists exposed these bacteria to mineral spring water, a nutrient-poor environment that causes them to enter the VBNC state of dormancy.
They discovered that during .
