ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Food Microbiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1601203
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Weissella and Periweissella genera: Taxonomy, Detection, Safety and Their Application in Food and HealthView all 3 articles
Exploring the Potential of Weissella paramesenteroides UFTM 2.6.1 in Disrupting Quorum Sensing and Attenuating Virulence in Listeria monocytogenes
Provisionally accepted
Isabela Sguilla Rotta1
Sthefania Dalva da Cunha Rezende1
Hugo Felix Perini1
Marcos Vinicius Da Silva1
Felipe Alves de Almeida2
Uelinton Manoel Pinto3
Alessandra Barbosa Ferreira-Machado4
Aline Dias Paiva1*- 1Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Brazil
- 2Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- 3University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- 4Juiz de Fora Federal University, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
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Weissella paramesenteroides UFTM 2.6.1, isolated from unpasteurized milk, is a potentially probiotic strain exhibiting desirable properties previously demonstrated in vitro, along with a confirmed safe and promising genetic profile based on whole-genome analysis. Due to the limited research on the ability of Weissella species to synthesize compounds with anti-quorum sensing activity, this study aimed to investigate the potential of W. paramesenteroides UFTM 2.6.1 to disrupt quorum sensing (QS) signaling and attenuate the virulence of Listeria monocytogenes, an important foodborne pathogen responsible for the zoonotic disease listeriosis. The effects of W. paramesenteroides cell-free supernatant (Wp-CFS) were evaluated on the growth, biofilm formation, motility, and expression of QS- and virulence-related genes in L. monocytogenes. Wp-CFS exhibited bacteriostatic activity against L. monocytogenes strains isolated from food and food processing environments (n=21). Additionally, it consistently reduced biofilm formation and swarming motility, two well-known QS-regulated phenotypes in L. monocytogenes. Exposure to Wp-CFS (0.25x MIC; 7.81 mg/mL), at 28 ºC for 24 h, significantly downregulated the relative expression of the genes luxS, agrA, flaA, motA, motB, and degU, whereas the genes sigB, and prfA were upregulated. This study represents the first report demonstrating the production of compounds by W. paramesenteroides aimed at disrupting the QS system of L. monocytogenes, offering novel insights into alternative approaches to attenuate pathogen virulence without relying on traditional antimicrobials.
Keywords: biofilm1, foodborne pathogen2, lactic acid bacteria3, probiotic4, quorum quenching5
Received: 27 Mar 2025; Accepted: 28 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sguilla Rotta, Rezende, Perini, Da Silva, de Almeida, Pinto, Ferreira-Machado and Paiva. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Aline Dias Paiva, Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Brazil
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