Proteomic Analysis of Listeria monocytogenes Subjected to Pulsed Magnetic Field

As one of the non-thermal technologies, the pulsed magnetic field (PMF) has increasingly attracted attention for its application in food microbial inactivation. In this study, a proteomic analysis was conducted to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the inactivation of <i>Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes)</i> by a PMF. A total of 79 proteins, comprising 65 upregulated and 14 downregulated proteins, were successfully identified as differentially expressed proteins (DEPs, >1.2-fold or <0.83-fold, <i>p</i>-value < 0.05) in <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i> exposed to a PMF at 8 T with 20 pulses. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses revealed that PMF exposure significantly impacted nutrient transport, the composition of cytoplasmic and intracellular substances, and various metabolic processes in <i>L. monocytogenes</i>, such as carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism. The disruption of cellular functions and metabolic pathways may contribute to the death of <i>L. monocytogenes</i> under PMF treatment. These findings provide valuable insights and serve as a reference for further investigations into the inactivation mechanisms induced by PMFs.