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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2008, p. 977-986, Vol. 74, No. 4
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01938-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Contribution of Copper Ion Resistance to Survival of Escherichia coli on Metallic Copper Surfaces{triangledown}

Christophe Espírito Santo,1 Nadine Taudte,2 Dietrich H. Nies,2 and Gregor Grass2*

Departamento de Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal,1 Institut für Biologie/Mikrobiologie, Martin-Luther-Universität, Halle-Wittenberg, Germany2

Received 23 August 2007/ Accepted 17 December 2007

Bacterial contamination of touch surfaces poses a serious threat for public health. The use of bactericidal surface materials, such as copper and its alloys, might constitute a way to aid the use of antibiotics and disinfectants, thus minimizing the risk of emergence and spread of multiresistant germs. The survival of Escherichia coli on metallic copper surfaces has been studied previously; however, the mechanisms underlying bacterial inactivation on copper surfaces have not been elucidated. Data presented in this study suggest that bacteria are killed rapidly on dry copper surfaces. Several factors, such as copper ion toxicity, copper chelators, cold, osmotic stress, and reactive oxygen species, but not anaerobiosis, influenced killing rates. Strains deleted in copper detoxification systems were slightly more sensitive than was the wild type. Preadaptation to copper enhanced survival rates upon copper surface exposure. This study constitutes a first step toward understanding the reasons for metallic copper surface-mediated killing of bacteria.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institut für Biologie/Mikrobiologie, Martin-Luther-Universität, Halle-Wittenberg, Kurt-Mothes-Str. 3, 06120 Halle, Germany. Phone: 49 (0345) 5526375. Fax: 49 (0345) 5527010. E-mail: g.grass{at}mikrobiologie.uni-halle.de

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 21 December 2007.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2008, p. 977-986, Vol. 74, No. 4
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01938-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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