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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2004, p. 1935-1943, Vol. 70, No. 4
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.4.1935-1943.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The htrA (degP) Gene of Listeria monocytogenes 10403S Is Essential for Optimal Growth under Stress Conditions

Laura D. Wonderling,1 Brian J. Wilkinson,2 and Darrell O. Bayles1*

Microbial Food Safety Research Unit, Eastern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania,1 Microbiology Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois2

Received 31 July 2003/ Accepted 20 December 2003

This report describes a mutant of Listeria monocytogenes strain 10403S (serotype 1/2a) with a defective response to conditions of high osmolarity, an environment that L. monocytogenes encounters in some ready-to-eat foods. A library of L. monocytogenes clones mutagenized with Tn917 was generated and scored for sensitivity to 4% NaCl in order to identify genes responsible for growth or survival in elevated-NaCl environments. One of the L. monocytogenes Tn917 mutants, designated strain OSM1, was selected, and the gene interrupted by the transposon was sequenced. A BLAST search with the putative translated amino acid sequence indicated that the interrupted gene product was a homolog of htrA (degP), a gene coding for a serine protease identified as a stress response protein in several gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. An htrA deletion strain, strain LDW1, was constructed, and the salt-sensitive phenotype of this strain was complemented by introduction of a plasmid carrying the wild-type htrA gene, demonstrating that htrA is necessary for optimal growth under conditions of osmotic stress. Additionally, strain LDW1 was tested for its response to temperature and H2O2 stresses. The results of these growth assays indicated that strain LDW1 grew at a lower rate than the wild-type strain at 44°C but at a rate similar to that of the wild-type strain when incubated at 4°C. In addition, strain LDW1 was significantly more sensitive to a 52°C heat shock than the wild-type strain. Strain LDW1 was also defective in its response to H2O2 challenge at 37°C, since 100 or 150 µg of H2O2 was more inhibitory for the growth of strain LDW1 than for that of the parent strain. The stress response phenotype observed for strain LDW1 is similar to that observed for other HtrA– organisms, which suggests that L. monocytogenes HtrA may play a role in degrading misfolded proteins that accumulate under stress conditions.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Eastern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 600 East Mermaid Ln., Wyndmoor, PA 19038. Phone: (215) 233-6678. Fax: (215) 233-6581. E-mail: dbayles{at}arserrc.gov.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2004, p. 1935-1943, Vol. 70, No. 4
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.4.1935-1943.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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