Research Article Open Access

Phage Display Selection of Specific Ligands for Listeria monocytogenes: Novel Tools for Diagnostic or Therapeutic Purposes

Abstract

The gram-positive bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is the agent of listeriosis, a hazardous foodborne infection. Foodborne listeriosis is a comparably rare disease, but the fatality rate is up to 30%, despite antibiotic treatment. Prevention of Listeria contamination is an important food safety challenge and the demand for rapid and specific L. monocytogenes detection systems, as well as antimicrobial agents, is steadily rising. However, the development of effective detection methods for L. monocytogenes was hampered by the lack of specific and highly affine antibodies. Antibody fragments or short synthetic peptides are interesting alternatives as probes for bacterial detection, as well as for novel therapeutic approaches. They can easily be selected by phage display. In this review, we report on recent achievements on the identification of specific ligands for L. monocytogenes

Julia Kenzel, Lisa Schlegelmilch and Susanne Aileen Funke

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