SURVIVABILITY OF LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES IN SEA WATER FROM COASTS OF KERALA, INDIA OFF ARABIAN SEAK. VRINDA MENON, B. SUNIL, C. LATHA AND C. SUNANDAAbstract Listeria species is a psychotrophic, intracellular, gram positive microorganism which has an inherent ability to survive under a wide range of adverse environmental conditions. Arabian sea is considered as one of the most productive zones in the world and the studies on the quality of sea water and survivability of Listeria is essential to know itÂ’s potential to support the growth of the organism. The seasonal variation study of physicochemical characteristics of sea water revealed that pH was lower during monsoons as compared to summer and BOD was lower during summer months as compared to monsoons Salinity however did not show a definite trend. The survivability of L. monocytogenes in sea water collected from five coastal districts of Kerala, India revealed that the organism survived more in sterilized water than under unsterilized conditions. Lower temperature of 4 oC better supported the growth of Listeria than 22oC. The maximum days of survivability of L. monocytogenes in sterile sea water at 4 oC and 22 oC was 150 days and 120 days respectively. The survivability in unsterilized sea water at both temperatures was less and was found to be 120 days and 90 days when incubated at 4 oC and 22 o C respectively. Hence, the physico chemical characteristics along with the presence of other competitive bacteria would have influenced the survivability of the organism in unsterile water. Moreover, the ubiquity of the organism and the presence of viable but not culturable (VBNC) state could pose a major public health threat due to this bacteria in sea water and subsequent contamination of seafoods.
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