Mirena Ivanova Mirena Ivanova Martin Laage Kragh Martin Laage Kragh Judit Szarvas Judit Szarvas Elif Seyda Tosun Elif Seyda Tosun Natacha Friis Holmud Natacha Friis Holmud Alexander Gmeiner Alexander Gmeiner Corinne Amar Corinne Amar Claudia Guldimann Claudia Guldimann Tu Anh N. Huynh Tu Anh N. Huynh Renáta Karpíšková Renáta Karpíšková Carmen Rota Carmen Rota Diego Gomez Diego Gomez Eurydice Aboagye Eurydice Aboagye Andrea Etter Andrea Etter Patrizia Centorame Patrizia Centorame Marina Torresi Marina Torresi Maria Elisabetta De Angelis Maria Elisabetta De Angelis Francesco Pomilio Francesco Pomilio Anders Hauge Okholm Anders Hauge Okholm Yinghua Xiao Yinghua Xiao Sylvia Kleta Sylvia Kleta Stefanie Lüth Stefanie Lüth Ariane Pietzka Ariane Pietzka Jovana Kovacevic Jovana Kovacevic Franco Pagotto Franco Pagotto Kathrin Rychli Kathrin Rychli Irena Zdovc Irena Zdovc Bojan Papic Bojan Papic Even Heir Even Heir Solveig Langsrud Solveig Langsrud Trond Møretrø Trond Møretrø Phillip Brown Phillip Brown Sophia Kathariou Sophia Kathariou Roger Stephan Roger Stephan Taurai Tasara Taurai Tasara Paw Dalgaard Paw Dalgaard Patrick Murigu Kamau Njage Patrick Murigu Kamau Njage Annette Fagerlund Annette Fagerlund Frank Aarestrup Frank Aarestrup Lisbeth Truelstrup Hansen Lisbeth Truelstrup Hansen Pimlapas Leekitcharoenphon Pimlapas Leekitcharoenphon American Society for Microbiology 2025 Listeria monocytogenes presents a significant concern for the food industry due to its ability to persist in the food processing environment. One of the factors contributing to its persistence is decreased sensitivity to disinfectants. Our objective was to assess the diversity of L. monocytogenes sensitivity to food industry disinfectants by testing the response of 1,671 L. monocytogenes isolates to quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) and 414 isolates to peracetic acid (PAA) using broth microdilution and growth curve analysis assays, respectively, and to categorize the isolates into sensitive and tolerant. A high phenotype-genotype concordance (95%) regarding tolerance to QACs was obtained by screening the genomes for the presence of QAC tolerance-associated genes bcrABC, emrE, emrC, and qacH. Based on this high concordance, we assessed the QAC genes' dissemination among publicly available L. monocytogenes genomes (n = 39,196). Overall, QAC genes were found in 23% and 28% of the L. monocytogenes collection in this study and in the global data set, respectively. bcrABC and qacH were the most prevalent genes, with bcrABC being the most detected QAC gene in the USA, while qacH dominated in Europe. No significant differences (P> 0.05) in the PAA tolerance were detected among isolates belonging to different lineages, serogroups, clonal complexes, or isolation sources, highlighting limited variation in the L. monocytogenes sensitivity to this disinfectant. The present work represents the largest testing of L. monocytogenes sensitivity to important food industry disinfectants at the phenotypic and genomic level, revealing diversity in the tolerance to QACs while all isolates showed similar sensitivity to PAA.Contamination of Listeria monocytogenes within food processing environments is of great concern to the food industry due to challenges in eradicating the isolates once they become established and persistent in the environment. Genetic markers associated with increased tolerance to certain disinfectants have been identified, which alongside other biotic and abiotic factors can favor the persistence of L. monocytogenes in the food production environment. By employing a comprehensive large-scale phenotypic testing and genomic analysis, this study significantly enhances the understanding of the L. monocytogenes tolerance to quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) and the genetic determinants associated with the increased tolerance. We provide a global overview of the QAC genes prevalence among public L. monocytogenes sequences and their distribution among clonal complexes, isolation sources, and geographical locations. Additionally, our comprehensive screening of the peracetic acid (PAA) sensitivity shows that this disinfectant can be used in the food industry as the lack of variation in sensitivity indicates reliable effect and no apparent possibility for the emergence of tolerance. PDFDocument eng 2025-05-02T08:33:08.573318Z 2025 Listeria Monocytogenes Drug Effects Listeria Monocytogenes Genetics Peracetic Acid Pharmacology Disinfectants Pharmacology Quaternary Ammonium Compounds Pharmacology Phenotype Genome, Bacterial Microbial Sensitivity Tests Food Microbiology Genomics Bacterial Proteins Genetics Bacterial Proteins Metabolism Drug Resistance, Bacterial Genetics 6637107 b application/pdf http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/