Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Microbiology 2008-3289 11 1 2019 03 23 7 12 Hossein Meghdadi Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran Azar Dokht Khosravi Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran AND Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center, Health Research Institute, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran Ahmad Farajzadeh Sheikh Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran AND Cell and Molecular Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran Ameneh Alami Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran Nerssy Nassirabady Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran 2018 08 25 2019 02 16 Background and Objectives: Due to the widespread distribution of Listeria monocytogenes in environmental and animal sources and serious clinical complications in human, this study was aimed to isolate L. monocytogenes from water and clinical specimens by culture and PCR methods and to investigate the presence of hlyA and inlA virulence genes. Materials and Methods: Water and clinical samples of vaginal and fecal were screened for the presence of L. monocytogenes by phenotypic and standard biochemical tests. PCR amplification was performed on extracted DNA using primers based on the hlyA and inlA genes. A 733-bp fragment of inlA gene was used for investigation of polymorphism using RFLP analysis. Results: In total, 45 phenotypically and molecularly confirmed L. monocytogenes strains were isolated from different sources including 30 (16.7%) from water, 9 (11.3%) from vaginal swabs and 6 (7.5%) from fecal samples. RFLP analysis of PCR products using AluI and Tsp509I restriction enzymes, generated two profiles with 8 to 10 bands ranging in size from 15 to 210 bp. The majority of water and clinical isolates were classified in profile 2. Conclusion: We demonstrated 45 L. monocytogenes isolates from tested water and clinical samples by phenotypic and molecular tests. The majority of the isolates were classified in the same RFLP profile, showing the water as a potential source of clinical complications in patients in the region of study. https://ijm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijm/article/view/1872 https://ijm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijm/article/download/1872/1116