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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2001, p. 4454-4457, Vol. 67, No. 10
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.10.4454-4457.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Role of sigma B in Heat, Ethanol, Acid, and Oxidative Stress Resistance and during Carbon Starvation in Listeria monocytogenes

Adriana Ferreira,1 Conor P. O'Byrne,2 and Kathryn J. Boor1,*

Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853,1 and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, Scotland, United Kingdom2

Received 16 April 2001/Accepted 16 July 2001

To determine the contribution of sigma B (sigma B) to survival of stationary-phase Listeria monocytogenes cells following exposure to environmental stresses, we compared the viability of strain 10403S with that of an isogenic nonpolar sigB null mutant strain after exposure to heat (50°C), ethanol (16.5%), or acid (pH 2.5). Strain viabilities were also determined under the same conditions in cultures that had been previously exposed to sublethal levels of the same stresses (45°C, 5% ethanol, or pH 4.5). The Delta sigB and wild-type strains had similar viabilities following exposure to ethanol and heat, but the Delta sigB strain was almost 10,000-fold more susceptible to lethal acid stress than its parent strain. However, a 1-h preexposure to pH 4.5 yielded a 1,000-fold improvement in viability for the Delta sigB strain. These results suggest the existence in L. monocytogenes of both a sigma B-dependent mechanism and a pH-dependent mechanism for acid resistance in the stationary phase. sigma B contributed to resistance to both oxidative stress and carbon starvation in L. monocytogenes. The Delta sigB strain was 100-fold more sensitive to 13.8 mM cumene hydroperoxide than the wild-type strain. Following glucose depletion, the Delta sigB strain lost viability more rapidly than the parent strain. sigma B contributions to viability during carbon starvation and to acid resistance and oxidative stress resistance support the hypothesis that sigma B plays a role in protecting L. monocytogenes against environmental adversities.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: 413 Stocking Hall, Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. Phone: (607) 255-3111. Fax: (607) 254-4868. E-mail: kjb4{at}cornell.edu.


Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2001, p. 4454-4457, Vol. 67, No. 10
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.10.4454-4457.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



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