Listeria monocytogenes persistence in food facilities poses major public health and economic burdens. We modeled long-term exposure to sublethal benzalkonium chloride (BAC) to approximate conditions similar to those in food processing facility drains and uncovered two complementary routes to sanitizer tolerance: (i) repeated inactivation of the fepR regulator with accompanying alterations in the fepA efflux pump, driving BAC tolerance and fluoroquinolone cross-resistance, and (ii) convergence on mutations in ptsH (HPr) within the phosphotransferase system, supported by RNA-seq upregulation of phosphotransferase system (PTS) pathways and biophysical evidence of destabilized HPr variants. Efflux inhibition reduced BAC tolerance where fepR/fepA was mutated but had limited impact in a bcrABC-positive background (where bcrABC encodes a plasmid-borne BAC resistance efflux cassette), highlighting the role of genetic context. These findings connect sanitizer adaptation to antibiotic resistance and identify PTS signaling as a systems-level contributor, informing surveillance and sanitation strategies in food production.

The lag in funding extends far beyond D.E.I. initiatives, affecting almost every area of science: chemistry, computing, engineering, materials and more.

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Abstract. Traditional fermented foods often contain specialized microorganisms adapted to their unique environments. For example, the filamentous mold Aspe

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