Silver and hydrogen peroxide as potential drinking water disinfectants: their bactericidal effects and possible modes of action

1997 ◽  
Vol 35 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 87-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Pedahzur ◽  
H. I. Shuval ◽  
S. Ulitzur

Silver and hydrogen peroxide (HP) acted synergistically on the viability of E. coli K-12. In certain concentration ranges the synergistic effect amounted to about 3 logs. Toxicity process kinetics were determined by following the decrease in luminescence of a highly luminescent recombinant E. coli harbouring a plasmid carrying the whole lux system of Vibrio fischeri. As in the viability studies, silver and HP also showed a synergistic effect on in vivo luminescence, which amounted to a 2 log increase in toxicity. A similar phenomenon was found for silver and certain metal ions, including Cu2+, Ni2+, Zn2+ and Cd2+, where toxicity increased by a factor of 10 in the presence of sub-inhibitory concentrations of silver. To monitor the expression of different stress response systems in treated cells, we have used E. coli carrying fusions of the lux system to promoters of different stress-controlling genes. Of the fusions tested, HP substantially increased the activity of recA, katG, micF, grpE, lon, and dnaK. Silver exerted a mild effect acting only on grpE and lon promoters. When in combination, a synergistic induction of the dnaK fusion and a slightly additive effect on grpE fusion were recorded. It appears that the combined toxic effect of silver and HP may be related with damage to cellular proteins. Nevertheless, the involvement of other cellular moieties can not be ruled out. The possibility that the synergistic effect is related to chemical interactions between silver and HP and the consequent increase in their toxicity is discussed.

1982 ◽  
Vol 152 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-88
Author(s):  
E H Berglin ◽  
M B Edlund ◽  
G K Nyberg ◽  
J Carlsson

Under anaerobic conditions an exponentially growing culture of Escherichia coli K-12 was exposed to hydrogen peroxide in the presence of various compounds. Hydrogen peroxide (0.1 mM) together with 0.1 mM L-cysteine or L-cystine killed the organisms more rapidly than 10 mM hydrogen peroxide alone. The exposure of E. coli to hydrogen peroxide in the presence of L-cysteine inhibited some of the catalase. This inhibition, however, could not fully explain the 100-fold increase in hydrogen peroxide sensitivity of the organism in the presence of L-cysteine. Of other compounds tested only some thiols potentiated the bactericidal effect of hydrogen peroxide. These thiols were effective, however, only at concentrations significantly higher than 0.1 mM. The effect of L-cysteine and L-cystine could be annihilated by the metal ion chelating agent 2,2'-bipyridyl. DNA breakage in E. coli K-12 was demonstrated under conditions where the organisms were killed by hydrogen peroxide.


2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (16) ◽  
pp. 4930-4937 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haihong Wang ◽  
John E. Cronan

ABSTRACT The organization of the fatty acid synthetic genes of Haemophilus influenzae Rd is remarkably similar to that of the paradigm organism, Escherichia coli K-12, except that no homologue of the E. coli fabF gene is present. This finding is unexpected, since fabF is very widely distributed among bacteria and is thought to be the generic 3-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) synthase active on long-chain-length substrates. However, H. influenzae Rd contains a homologue of the E. coli fabB gene, which encodes a 3-ketoacyl-ACP synthase required for unsaturated fatty acid synthesis, and it seemed possible that the H. influenzae FabB homologue might have acquired the functions of FabF. E. coli mutants lacking fabF function are unable to regulate the compositions of membrane phospholipids in response to growth temperature. We report in vivo evidence that the enzyme encoded by the H. influenzae fabB gene has properties essentially identical to those of E. coli FabB and lacks FabF activity. Therefore, H. influenzae grows without FabF function. Moreover, as predicted from studies of the E. coli fabF mutants, H. influenzae is unable to change the fatty acid compositions of its membrane phospholipids with growth temperature. We also demonstrate that the fabB gene of Vibrio cholerae El Tor N16961 does not contain a frameshift mutation as was previously reported.


1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (22) ◽  
pp. 7143-7148 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Martinez-Morales ◽  
A. C. Borges ◽  
A. Martinez ◽  
K. T. Shanmugam ◽  
L. O. Ingram

ABSTRACT A set of vectors which facilitates the sequential integration of new functions into the Escherichia coli chromosome by homologous recombination has been developed. These vectors are based on plasmids described by Posfai et al. (J. Bacteriol. 179:4426–4428, 1997) which contain conditional replicons (pSC101 or R6K), a choice of three selectable markers (ampicillin, chloramphenicol, or kanamycin), and a single FRT site. The modified vectors contain twoFRT sites which bracket a modified multiple cloning region for DNA insertion. After integration, a helper plasmid expressing the flippase (FLP) recombinase allows precise in vivo excision of the replicon and the marker used for selection. Sites are also available for temporary insertion of additional functions which can be subsequently deleted with the replicon. Only the DNA inserted into the multiple cloning sites (passenger genes and homologous fragment for targeting) and a single FRT site (68 bp) remain in the chromosome after excision. The utility of these vectors was demonstrated by integrating Zymomonas mobilis genes encoding the ethanol pathway behind the native chromosomaladhE gene in strains of E. coli K-12 andE. coli B. With these vectors, a single antibiotic selection system can be used repeatedly for the successive improvement of E. coli strains with precise deletion of extraneous genes used during construction.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (22) ◽  
pp. 8437
Author(s):  
Jae-Sung Kim ◽  
Seok-Jun Mun ◽  
Euni Cho ◽  
Donggyu Kim ◽  
Wooic Son ◽  
...  

Dense granule proteins (GRAs) are essential components in Toxoplasma gondii, which are suggested to be promising serodiagnostic markers in toxoplasmosis. In this study, we investigated the function of GRA9 in host response and the associated regulatory mechanism, which were unknown. We found that GRA9 interacts with NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) involved in inflammation by forming the NLRP3 inflammasome. The C-terminal of GRA9 (GRA9C) is essential for GRA9–NLRP3 interaction by disrupting the NLRP3 inflammasome through blocking the binding of apoptotic speck-containing (ASC)-NLRP3. Notably, Q200 of GRA9C is essential for the interaction of NLRP3 and blocking the conjugation of ASC. Recombinant GRA9C (rGRA9C) showed an anti-inflammatory effect and the elimination of bacteria by converting M1 to M2 macrophages. In vivo, rGRA9C increased the anti-inflammatory and bactericidal effects and subsequent anti-septic activity in CLP- and E. coli- or P. aeruginosa-induced sepsis model mice by increasing M2 polarization. Taken together, our findings defined a role of T. gondii GRA9 associated with NLRP3 in host macrophages, suggesting its potential as a new candidate therapeutic agent for sepsis.


1968 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 1219-1221 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Lodemann ◽  
S. Iskrić ◽  
C. Altaner ◽  
A. Wacker
Keyword(s):  
E Coli ◽  

Methylthio-β.ᴅ-galaktosid wird in E. coli K 12, sowie in den Mutanten ML 3 und ML 308 in vivo zu einem geringen Teil in einen Phosphorsäureester, wahrscheinlich das 6-Phosphat (TMG-P) umgewandelt. TMG-P wird von E. coli K 12 aufgenommen, wirkt jedoch nicht als Induktor des Lactose-Operons. Zellfreie Extrakte aus E. coli K 12 geben die gleiche Reaktion, wobei die in vitro-Reaktion durch anorganisches Phosphat und Phosphoenolpyruvat stimuliert wird.


1995 ◽  
Vol 31 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 123-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rami Pedahzur ◽  
Ovadia Lev ◽  
Badri Fattal ◽  
Hillel I. Shuval

The inactivation efficiencies of silver ions, hydrogen peroxide and their combination was studied as part of a performance evaluation of the combined disinfectant for drinking water applications. The major advantages of such combined disinfectant include, low toxicity of its components, long lasting residual effect and low disinfection by product formation. Specific strains of E. coli (E. coli-B (SR-9) and E. coli K-12) were used in this study as target microorganisms and the separate and combined inactivation efficiencies of silver and hydrogen peroxide were evaluated at different concentrations and exposure durations. Both, silver and hydrogen peroxide exhibited a significant inactivation performance even at concentrations that do not pose any health risk according to the EEC, WHO and the USEPA (the USEPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of silver is 90 ppb, and currently, there is no MCL for hydrogen peroxide but it is approved as a food additive in the USA). Combinations of 1:1000 silver:hydrogen peroxide (w) exhibited higher inactivation performance as compared with each of the disinfectants alone and in some cases a synergistic effect was observed, i.e., the combined disinfectant exhibited higher inactivation performance than the sum of the inactivation levels of the separate disinfectants. Thus, for example, one hour exposure to 30 ppb silver, 30 ppm hydrogen peroxide and their combination yielded 2.87, 0.65 and 5 logs of inactivation respectively. While the rate of inactivation shown by this combined disinfectant, now available commercially in a stabilized formulation is relatively slow, it may well hold promise as a secondary disinfectant providing long lasting residuals and biofilm control required for distribution systems. Its disinfection action may be similar to chloramines, the use of which has been recently outlawed in France and in Germany and which are now under careful scrutiny in other countries due to the formation of undesirable by-products.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomohiro Shimada ◽  
Yui Yokoyama ◽  
Takumi Anzai ◽  
Kaneyoshi Yamamoto ◽  
Akira Ishihama

AbstractOutside a warm-blooded animal host, the enterobacterium Escherichia coli K-12 is also able to grow and survive in stressful nature. The major organic substance in nature is plant, but the genetic system of E. coli how to utilize plant-derived materials as nutrients is poorly understood. Here we describe the set of regulatory targets for uncharacterized IclR-family transcription factor YiaJ on the E. coli genome, using gSELEX screening system. Among a total of 18 high-affinity binding targets of YiaJ, the major regulatory target was identified to be the yiaLMNOPQRS operon for utilization of ascorbate from fruits and galacturonate from plant pectin. The targets of YiaJ also include the genes involved in the utilization for other plant-derived materials as nutrients such as fructose, sorbitol, glycerol and fructoselysine. Detailed in vitro and in vivo analyses suggest that L-ascorbate and α-D-galacturonate are the effector ligands for regulation of YiaJ function. These findings altogether indicate that YiaJ plays a major regulatory role in expression of a set of the genes for the utilization of plant-derived materials as nutrients for survival. PlaR was also suggested to play protecting roles of E. coli under stressful environments in nature, including the formation of biofilm. We then propose renaming YiaJ to PlaR (regulator of plant utilization).


2010 ◽  
Vol 76 (14) ◽  
pp. 4655-4663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean M. Lee ◽  
Aaron Wyse ◽  
Aaron Lesher ◽  
Mary Lou Everett ◽  
Linda Lou ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Although mice associated with a single bacterial species have been used to provide a simple model for analysis of host-bacteria relationships, bacteria have been shown to display adaptability when grown in a variety of novel environments. In this study, changes associated with the host-bacterium relationship in mice monoassociated with Escherichia coli K-12 over a period of 1,031 days were evaluated. After 80 days, phenotypic diversification of E. coli was observed, with the colonizing bacteria having a broader distribution of growth rates in the laboratory than the parent E. coli. After 1,031 days, which included three generations of mice and an estimated 20,000 generations of E. coli, the initially homogeneous bacteria colonizing the mice had evolved to have widely different growth rates on agar, a potential decrease in tendency for spontaneous lysis in vivo, and an increased tendency for spontaneous lysis in vitro. Importantly, mice at the end of the experiment were colonized at an average density of bacteria that was more than 3-fold greater than mice colonized on day 80. Evaluation of selected isolates on day 1,031 revealed unique restriction endonuclease patterns and differences between isolates in expression of more than 10% of the proteins identified by two-dimensional electrophoresis, suggesting complex changes underlying the evolution of diversity during the experiment. These results suggest that monoassociated mice might be used as a tool for characterizing niches occupied by the intestinal flora and potentially as a method of targeting the evolution of bacteria for applications in biotechnology.


2006 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 3427-3436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Léveillé ◽  
Mélissa Caza ◽  
James R. Johnson ◽  
Connie Clabots ◽  
Mourad Sabri ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Virulence factors of pathogenic Escherichia coli belonging to a recently emerged and disseminated clonal group associated with urinary tract infection (UTI), provisionally designated clonal group A (CGA), have not been experimentally investigated. We used a mouse model of ascending UTI with CGA member strain UCB34 in order to identify genes of CGA that contribute to UTI. iha was identified to be expressed by strain UCB34 in the mouse kidney using selective capture of transcribed sequences. iha from strain UCB34 demonstrated a siderophore receptor phenotype when cloned in a catecholate siderophore receptor-negative E. coli K-12 strain, as shown by growth promotion experiments and uptake of 55Fe complexed to enterobactin or its linear 2, 3-dihydroxybenzoylserine (DHBS) siderophore derivatives. Siderophore-mediated growth promotion by Iha was TonB dependent. Growth and iron uptake were more marked with linear DHBS derivatives than with purified enterobactin. The reported phenotype of adherence to epithelial cells conferred by expressing iha from a multicopy cloning vector in a poorly adherent E. coli K-12 host strain was confirmed to be specific to iha, in comparison with other siderophore receptor genes. iha expression was regulated by the ferric uptake regulator Fur and by iron availability, as shown by real-time reverse transcriptase PCR. In a competitive infection experiment using the mouse UTI model, wild-type strain UCB34 significantly outcompeted an isogenic iha null mutant. Iha thus represents a Fur-regulated catecholate siderophore receptor that, uniquely, exhibits an adherence-enhancing phenotype and is the first described urovirulence factor identified in a CGA strain.


Microbiology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 152 (3) ◽  
pp. 745-758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mourad Sabri ◽  
Simon Léveillé ◽  
Charles M. Dozois

An operon encoding a member of the family of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) divalent metal ion transporters, homologous to Salmonella enterica SitABCD, has been identified in the avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) strain χ7122. The sitABCD genes were located on the virulence plasmid pAPEC-1, and were highly similar at the nucleotide level to the chromosomally encoded sitABCD genes present in Shigella spp. A cloned copy of sitABCD conferred increased growth upon a siderophore-deficient E. coli strain grown in nutrient broth supplemented with the chelator 2,2′-dipyridyl. Ion rescue demonstrated that Sit-mediated growth promotion of this strain was due to the transport of iron. SitABCD mediated increased transport of both iron and manganese as demonstrated by uptake of 55Fe, 59Fe or 54Mn in E. coli K-12 strains deficient for the transport of iron (aroB feoB) and manganese (mntH) respectively. Isotope uptake and transport inhibition studies showed that in the iron transport deficient strain, SitABCD demonstrated a greater affinity for iron than for manganese, and SitABCD-mediated transport was higher for ferrous iron, whereas in the manganese transport deficient strain, SitABCD demonstrated greater affinity for manganese than for iron. Introduction of the APEC sitABCD genes into an E. coli K-12 mntH mutant also conferred increased resistance to the bactericidal effects of hydrogen peroxide. APEC strain χ7122 derivatives lacking either a functional SitABCD or a functional MntH transport system were as resistant to hydrogen peroxide as the wild-type strain, whereas a Δsit ΔmntH double mutant was more sensitive to hydrogen peroxide. Overall, the results demonstrate that in E. coli SitABCD represents a manganese and iron transporter that, in combination with other ion transport systems, may contribute to acquisition of iron and manganese, and resistance to oxidative stress.


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