Listeria innocua and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus employ different strategies to cope with acid stress

Lana Shabala, Tom McMeekin, Birgitte Bjørn Budde, Henrik Siegumfeldt

    34 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Responses of Listeria innocua and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus to a rapid change in extracellular pH (pHex) from pHex 6 to a range of concentrations down to pHex 3.0 were examined, using HCl and lactic acid (LA) as acidulants. A new fluorescent probe 5-(and-6)-carboxy-2', 7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester (CDCFDA-SE) was employed that enabled reliable measurements of intracellular pH (pHi) to a minimum pHi of 4.0. Changes in pHi and H+ fluxes from immobilised bacteria were measured using fluorescence ratio imaging microscopy (FRIM) and a non-invasive ion flux measuring technique (MIFE), respectively. L. innocua maintained a relatively constant pHi of 5.5-6.1 at pHex 4 and 5 via H+ extrusion. In contrast, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus progressively lowered pHi towards pHex over the entire pHex range examined. The type of acidulant used influenced pH regulation with both pHi and H+ -fluxes being more severely affected by LA compared to HCl. Overall, our data demonstrated different adaptive strategies in these two bacteria. While L. innocua expels protons to maintain a constant pHi, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus allows proton entry after acidic treatment so that pHi follows pHex.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalInternational Journal of Food Microbiology
    Volume110
    Issue number1
    Pages (from-to)1-7
    Number of pages7
    ISSN0168-1605
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2006

    Keywords

    • Former LIFE faculty
    • Listeria innocua; Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus; Acid stress; pH homeostasis; pHi; H+ ion flux; Microelectrode technique

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Listeria innocua and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus employ different strategies to cope with acid stress'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this