Previous Article | Next Article 
Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2002, p. 6005-6012, Vol. 68, No. 12
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.12.6005-6012.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Bile Stress Response in Listeria monocytogenes LO28: Adaptation, Cross-Protection, and Identification of Genetic Loci Involved in Bile Resistance
Máire Begley, Cormac G. M. Gahan,* and Colin Hill
Department of Microbiology and National Food Biotechnology Centre, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
Received 24 May 2002/
Accepted 9 September 2002
Bile is one of many barriers that Listeria monocytogenes must overcome in the human gastrointestinal tract in order to infect and cause disease. We demonstrated that stationary-phase cultures of L. monocytogenes LO28 were able to tolerate concentrations of bovine, porcine, and human bile and bile acids well in excess of those encountered in vivo. Strain LO28 was relatively bile resistant compared with other clinical isolates of L. monocytogenes, as well as with Listeria innocua, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2, and Lactobacillus sakei. While exponential-phase L. monocytogenes LO28 cells were exquisitely sensitive to unconjugated bile acids, prior adaptation to sublethal levels of bile acids or heterologous stresses, such as acid, heat, salt, or sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), significantly enhanced bile resistance. This adaptive response was independent of protein synthesis, and in the cases of bile and SDS adaptation, occurred in seconds. In order to identify genetic loci involved in the bile tolerance phenotype of L. monocytogenes LO28, transposon (Tn917) and plasmid (pORI19) integration banks were screened for bile-sensitive mutants. The disrupted genes included a homologue of the capA locus required for capsule formation in Bacillus anthracis; a gene encoding the transcriptional regulator ZurR; a homologue of an Escherichia coli gene, lytB, involved in isoprenoid biosynthesis; a gene encoding a homologue of the Bacillus subtilis membrane protein YxiO; and a gene encoding an amino acid transporter with a putative role in pH homeostasis, gadE. Interestingly, all of the identified loci play putative roles in maintenance of the cell envelope or in stress responses.
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. Phone: 353-21-4902080. Fax: 353-21-4903101. E-mail:
c.gahan{at}ucc.i.e.
Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2002, p. 6005-6012, Vol. 68, No. 12
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.12.6005-6012.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
This article has been cited by other articles:
-
Jones, B. V., Begley, M., Hill, C., Gahan, C. G. M., Marchesi, J. R.
(2008). Functional and comparative metagenomic analysis of bile salt hydrolase activity in the human gut microbiome. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
105: 13580-13585
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Barmpalia-Davis, I. M., Geornaras, I., Kendall, P. A., Sofos, J. N.
(2008). Differences in Survival among 13 Listeria monocytogenes Strains in a Dynamic Model of the Stomach and Small Intestine. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.
74: 5563-5567
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Whitehead, K., Versalovic, J., Roos, S., Britton, R. A.
(2008). Genomic and Genetic Characterization of the Bile Stress Response of Probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC 55730. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.
74: 1812-1819
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Sanchez, B., Champomier-Verges, M.-C., Collado, M. d. C., Anglade, P., Baraige, F., Sanz, Y., de los Reyes-Gavilan, C. G., Margolles, A., Zagorec, M.
(2007). Low-pH Adaptation and the Acid Tolerance Response of Bifidobacterium longum Biotype longum. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.
73: 6450-6459
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Solheim, M., Aakra, A., Vebo, H., Snipen, L., Nes, I. F.
(2007). Transcriptional Responses of Enterococcus faecalis V583 to Bovine Bile and Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.
73: 5767-5774
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Kristoffersen, S. M., Ravnum, S., Tourasse, N. J., Okstad, O. A., Kolsto, A.-B., Davies, W.
(2007). Low Concentrations of Bile Salts Induce Stress Responses and Reduce Motility in Bacillus cereus ATCC 14570. J. Bacteriol.
189: 5302-5313
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Begley, M., Hill, C., Gahan, C. G. M.
(2006). Bile salt hydrolase activity in probiotics.. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.
72: 1729-1738
[Full Text]
-
Begley, M., Sleator, R. D., Gahan, C. G. M., Hill, C.
(2005). Contribution of Three Bile-Associated Loci, bsh, pva, and btlB, to Gastrointestinal Persistence and Bile Tolerance of Listeria monocytogenes. Infect. Immun.
73: 894-904
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Bron, P. A., Marco, M., Hoffer, S. M., Van Mullekom, E., de Vos, W. M., Kleerebezem, M.
(2004). Genetic Characterization of the Bile Salt Response in Lactobacillus plantarum and Analysis of Responsive Promoters In Vitro and In Situ in the Gastrointestinal Tract. J. Bacteriol.
186: 7829-7835
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Azcarate-Peril, M. A., Altermann, E., Hoover-Fitzula, R. L., Cano, R. J., Klaenhammer, T. R.
(2004). Identification and Inactivation of Genetic Loci Involved with Lactobacillus acidophilus Acid Tolerance. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.
70: 5315-5322
[Abstract]
[Full Text]