A novel serotype-specific gene cassette (gltA-gltB) is required for expression of teichoic acid-associated surface antigens in Listeria monocytogenes of serotype 4b.

Listeria monocytogenes serotype 4b strains account for about 40% of sporadic cases and many epidemics of listeriosis. Mutations in a chromosomal locus resulted in loss of reactivity with all three monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) which were specific to serotype 4b and the closely related serotypes 4d and 4e. Here we show that this locus contains a serotype 4b-4d-4e-specific gene cassette (3,071 bp) which consists of two genes, gltA and gltB, and is flanked by palindromic sequences (51 and 44 nucleotides). Complete loss of reactivity with the three serotype-specific MAbs resulted from insertional inactivation of either gltA or gltB. The gltA and gltB mutants were characterized by loss and severe reduction, respectively, of glucose in the teichoic acid, whereas galactose, the other serotype-specific sugar substituent in the teichoic acid, was not affected. Within L. monocytogenes, only strains of serotypes 4b, 4d, and 4e harbored the gltA-gltB cassette, whereas coding sequences on either side of the cassette were conserved among all serotypes. Comparative genomic analysis of a serotype 1/2b strain showed that the 3,071-bp gltA-gltB cassette was replaced by a much shorter (528-bp) and unrelated region, flanked by inverted repeats similar to their counterparts in serotype 4b. These findings indicate that in the evolution of different serotypes of L. monocytogenes, this site in the genome has become occupied by serotype-specific sequences which, in the case of serotype 4b, are essential for expression of serotype-specific surface antigens and presence of glucose substituents in the teichoic acids in the cell wall.