Specific growth rate and not cell density controls the general stress response in Escherichia coli

Microbiology ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 150 (6) ◽  
pp. 1637-1648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Ihssen ◽  
Thomas Egli

In batch cultures of Escherichia coli, the intracellular concentration of the general stress response sigma factor RpoS typically increases during the transition from the exponential to the stationary growth phase. However, because this transition is accompanied by complex physico-chemical and biological changes, which signals predominantly elicit this induction is still the subject of debate. Careful design of the growth environment in chemostat and batch cultures allowed the separate study of individual factors affecting RpoS. Specific growth rate, and not cell density or the nature of the growth-limiting nutrient, controlled RpoS expression and RpoS-dependent hydroperoxidase activity. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the standard E. coli minimal medium A (MMA) is not suitable for high-cell-density cultivation because it lacks trace elements. Previously reported cell-density effects in chemostat cultures of E. coli can be explained by a hidden, secondary nutrient limitation, which points to the importance of medium design and appropriate experimental set-up for studying cell-density effects.

2010 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 1334-1341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan-Miguel Puertas ◽  
Jordi Ruiz ◽  
Mónica Rodríguez de la Vega ◽  
Julia Lorenzo ◽  
Glòria Caminal ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 81 (8) ◽  
pp. 2733-2742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Bleibtreu ◽  
Pierre-Alexis Gros ◽  
Cédric Laouénan ◽  
Olivier Clermont ◽  
Hervé Le Nagard ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe extraintestinal virulence ofEscherichia coliis dependent on numerous virulence genes. However, there is growing evidence for a role of the metabolic properties and stress responses of strains in pathogenesis. We assessed the respective roles of these factors in strain virulence by developing phenotypic assays for measuringin vitroindividual and competitive fitness and the general stress response, which we applied to 82 commensal and extraintestinal pathogenicE. colistrains previously tested in a mouse model of sepsis. Individual fitness properties, in terms of maximum growth rates in various media (Luria-Bertani broth with and without iron chelator, minimal medium supplemented with gluconate, and human urine) and competitive fitness properties, estimated as the mean relative growth rate per generation in mixed cultures with a reference fluorescentE. colistrain, were highly diverse between strains. The activity of the main general stress response regulator, RpoS, as determined by iodine staining of the colonies, H2O2resistance, andrpoSsequencing, was also highly variable. No correlation between strain fitness and stress resistance and virulence in the mouse model was found, except that the maximum growth rate in urine was higher for virulent strains. Multivariate analysis showed that the number of virulence factors was the only independent factor explaining the virulence in mice. At the species level, growth capacity and stress resistance are heterogeneous properties that do not contribute significantly to the intrinsic virulence of the strains.


1991 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Riesenberg ◽  
V. Schulz ◽  
W.A. Knorre ◽  
H.-D. Pohl ◽  
D. Korz ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1184-1193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Peebo ◽  
Kaspar Valgepea ◽  
Andres Maser ◽  
Ranno Nahku ◽  
Kaarel Adamberg ◽  
...  

Allocation of protein expression costs between metabolic processes in slow and fast growingE. coliin defined rich medium.


1999 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Urs Lendenmann ◽  
Mario Snozzi ◽  
Thomas Egli

Kinetic models for microbial growth describe the specific growth rate (μ) as a function of the concentration of the growth-limiting nutrient (s) and a set of parameters. A typical example is the model proposed by Monod, where μ is related to s using substrate affinity (Ks) and the maximum specific growth rate (μmax). The preferred method to determine such parameters is to grow microorganisms in continuous culture and to measure the concentration of the growth-limiting substrate as a function of the dilution rate. However, owing to the lack of analytical methods to quantify sugars in the microgram per litre range, it has not been possible to investigate the growth kinetics of Escherichia coli in chemostat culture. Using an HPLC method able to determine steady-state concentrations of reducing sugars, we previously have shown that the Monod model adequately describes glucose-limited growth of E. coli ML30. This has not been confirmed for any other sugar. Therefore, we carried out a similar study with galactose and found steady-state concentrations between 18 and 840 μg·L-1 for dilution rates between 0.2 and 0.8·h-1, respectively. With these data the parameters of several models giving the specific growth rate as a function of the substrate concentration were estimated by nonlinear parameter estimation, and subsequently, the models were evaluated statistically. From all equations tested, the Monod model described the data best. The parameters for galactose utilisation were μmax = 0.75·h-1 and Ks = 67 μg·L-1. The results indicated that accurate Ks values can be estimated from a limited set of steady-state data when employing μmax measured during balanced growth in batch culture. This simplified procedure was applied for maltose, ribose, and fructose. For growth of E. coli with these sugars, μmax and Ks were for maltose 0.87·h-1, 100 μg·L-1; for ribose 0.57·h-1, 132 μg·L-1, and for fructose 0.70·h-1, 125 μg·L-1. Key words: monod model, continuous culture, galactose, glucose, fructose, maltose, ribose.


2006 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 2586-2593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Berney ◽  
Hans-Ulrich Weilenmann ◽  
Julian Ihssen ◽  
Claudio Bassin ◽  
Thomas Egli

ABSTRACT Knowledge about the sensitivity of the test organism is essential for the evaluation of any disinfection method. In this work we show that sensitivity of Escherichia coli MG1655 to three physical stresses (mild heat, UVA light, and sunlight) that are relevant in the disinfection of drinking water with solar radiation is determined by the specific growth rate of the culture. Batch- and chemostat-cultivated cells from cultures with similar specific growth rates showed similar stress sensitivities. Generally, fast-growing cells were more sensitive to the stresses than slow-growing cells. For example, slow-growing chemostat-cultivated cells (D = 0.08 h−1) and stationary-phase bacteria from batch culture that were exposed to mild heat had very similar T 90 (time until 90% of the population is inactivated) values (T 90, chemostat = 2.66 h; T 90, batch = 2.62 h), whereas T 90 for cells growing at a μ of 0.9 h−1 was 0.2 h. We present evidence that the stress sensitivity of E. coli is correlated with the intracellular level of the alternative sigma factor RpoS. This is also supported by the fact that E. coli rpoS mutant cells were more stress sensitive than the parent strain by factors of 4.9 (mild heat), 5.3 (UVA light), and 4.1 (sunlight). Furthermore, modeling of inactivation curves with GInaFiT revealed that the shape of inactivation curves changed depending on the specific growth rate. Inactivation curves of cells from fast-growing cultures (μ = 1.0 h−1) that were irradiated with UVA light showed a tailing effect, while for slow-growing cultures (μ = 0.3 h−1), inactivation curves with shoulders were obtained. Our findings emphasize the need for accurate reporting of specific growth rates and detailed culture conditions in disinfection studies to allow comparison of data from different studies and laboratories and sound interpretation of the data obtained.


2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-Chun Cheng ◽  
Lien-I Hor ◽  
Jau-Yann Wu ◽  
Teh-Liang Chen

Genetics ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-358
Author(s):  
Robert B Helling ◽  
Christopher N Vargas ◽  
Julian Adams

ABSTRACT Populations of Escherichia coli, initiated with a single clone and maintained for long periods in glucose-limited continuous culture, developed extensive polymorphisms. In one population, examined after 765 generations, two majority and two minority types were identified. Stable mixed populations were reestablished from the isolated strains. Factors involved in the development of this polymorphism included differences in the maximum specific growth rate and in the transport of glucose, and excretion of metabolites by some clones which were utilized by minority clones.


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