scholarly journals Adaptive Acid Tolerance Response of Streptococcus sobrinus

2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (19) ◽  
pp. 6383-6390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelle M. Nascimento ◽  
José A. C. Lemos ◽  
Jacqueline Abranches ◽  
Reginaldo B. Gonçalves ◽  
Robert A. Burne

ABSTRACT Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus are the bacteria most commonly associated with human dental caries. A major virulence attribute of these and other cariogenic bacteria is acid tolerance. The acid tolerance mechanisms of S. mutans have begun to be investigated in detail, including the adaptive acid tolerance response (ATR), but this is not the case for S. sobrinus. An analysis of the ATR of two S. sobrinus strains was conducted with cells grown to steady state in continuous chemostat cultures. Compared with cells grown at neutral pH, S. sobrinus cells grown at pH 5.0 showed an increased resistance to acid killing and were able to drive down the pH through glycolysis to lower values. Unlike what is found for S. mutans, the enhanced acid tolerance and glycolytic capacities of acid-adapted S. sobrinus were not due to increased F-ATPase activities. Interestingly though, S. sobrinus cells grown at pH 5.0 had twofold more glucose phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system (PTS) activity than cells grown at pH 7.0. In contrast, glucose PTS activity was actually higher in S. mutans grown at pH 7.0 than in cells grown at pH 5.0. Silver staining of two-dimensional gels of whole-cell lysates of S. sobrinus 6715 revealed that at least 9 proteins were up-regulated and 22 proteins were down-regulated in pH 5.0-grown cells compared with cells grown at pH 7.0. Our results demonstrate that S. sobrinus is capable of mounting an ATR but that there are critical differences between the mechanisms of acid adaptation used by S. sobrinus and S. mutans.

1999 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 670-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
SADHANA RAVISHANKAR ◽  
MARK A. HARRISON

Listeria monocytogenes has been implicated in foodborne illness outbreaks involving several types of cheeses made from acidified milk. Acid shock response (ASR) and acid tolerance response (ATR) could be possible reasons for its survival. The ASR and ATR of three strains of L. monocytogenes (V7, V37, and CA) in skim milk acidified to pH 4.0 and 3.5 with lactic acid and held at 32°C were studied. Studies were also done to determine if acid adaptation of the organism enhanced survival in the presence of an activated lactoperoxidase system. The cells were directly shocked at pH 4.0 and 3.5 in skim milk to study the ASR. To study the ATR, cells were initially adapted in skim milk at a mild pH of 5.5 for the equivalent of one generation before being shocked at pH 4.0 and 3.5 in skim milk. Cells adapted at pH 5.5 in tryptic soy broth without dextrose and nonadapted cells were challenged at pH 4.5 in skim milk with or without an activated lactoperoxidase system. In all cases, viability and pH were measured 24 or 48 h after challenge. In pH 4.0 skim milk, for all three strains, the adapted cell population survived better (0.5 to 1.0 log higher) than that of nonadapted cells for 24 h. In pH 3.5 skim milk, the acid-adapted populations of all three strains were 3 to 4 logs greater than those of nonadapted cells at 6 h. The acid adapted cells of all three strains had survival rates similar to those of the nonadapted cells at pH 4.5 both in the presence and absence of an activated lactoperoxidase system. It was also evident that these strains do not exhibit an adaptive ATR at pH 4.5, although they do at lower pH levels (pH 4.0 and 3.5). Survival due to the ATR was better seen at pH 3.5 than at pH 4.0.


2001 ◽  
Vol 67 (5) ◽  
pp. 2029-2036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwénaël Jan ◽  
Pauline Leverrier ◽  
Vianney Pichereau ◽  
Patrick Boyaval

ABSTRACT Survival of bacteria in changing environments depends on their ability to adapt to abiotic stresses. Microorganisms used in food technology face acid stress during fermentation processes. Similarly, probiotic bacteria have to survive acid stress imposed within the stomach in order to reach the intestine and play a beneficial role. Propionibacteria are used both as cheese starters and as probiotics in human alimentation. Adaptation to low pH thus constitutes a limit to their efficacy. Acid stress adaptation in the probiotic SI41 strain ofPropionibacterium freudenreichii was therefore investigated. The acid tolerance response (ATR) was evidenced in a chemically defined medium. Transient exposure to pH 5 afforded protection toward acid challenge at pH 2. Protein neosynthesis was shown to be required for optimal ATR, since chloramphenicol reduced the acquired acid tolerance. Important changes in genetic expression were observed with two-dimensional electrophoresis during adaptation. Among the up-regulated polypeptides, a biotin carboxyl carrier protein and enzymes involved in DNA synthesis and repair were identified during the early stress response, while the universal chaperonins GroEL and GroES corresponded to a later response. The beneficial effect of ATR was evident at both the physiological and morphological levels. This study constitutes a first step toward understanding the very efficient ATR described inP. freudenreichii.


2002 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 458-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengru Zhu ◽  
Musangu Ngeleka ◽  
Andrew A Potter ◽  
Brenda J Allan

The Fur (ferric uptake regulator) protein is a master regulator of iron metabolism in gram-negative bacteria. In the present study, the effect of a partial deletion of the fur gene on the acid-tolerance response and in vivo virulence of avian Escherichia coli was examined. The fur mutant was unable to trigger the acid-tolerance response as observed in the wild-type parent strain. However, the mutant was as virulent as the wild-type parent strain when tested in 1-day-old chickens by subcutaneous inoculation. These data indicate that the fur gene is involved in the acid-tolerance response but not involved in the virulence of E. coli, as detected by the ability to cause septicemia in our experimental infection.Key words: E. coli, fur, acid-tolerance response.


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