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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 1999, p. 3458-3463, Vol. 65, No. 8
0099-2240/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Production of Acylated Homoserine Lactones by Psychrotrophic Members of the Enterobacteriaceae Isolated from Foods

Lone Gram,1,* Allan Beck Christensen,2 Lars Ravn,1 Søren Molin,2 and Michael Givskov2

Danish Institute for Fisheries Research, Department of Seafood Research,1 and Department of Microbiology,2 Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark

Received 27 January 1999/Accepted 10 May 1999

Bacteria are able to communicate and gene regulation can be mediated through the production of acylated homoserine lactone (AHL) signal molecules. These signals play important roles in several pathogenic and symbiotic bacteria. The following study was undertaken to investigate whether AHLs are produced by bacteria found in food at temperatures and NaCl conditions commercially used for food preservation and storage. A minimum of 116 of 154 psychrotrophic Enterobacteriaceae strains isolated from cold-smoked salmon or vacuum-packed chilled meat produced AHLs. Analysis by thin-layer chromatography indicated that N-3-oxo-hexanoyl homoserine lactone was the major AHL of several of the strains isolated from cold-smoked salmon and meat. AHL-positive strains cultured at 5°C in medium supplemented with 4% NaCl produced detectable amounts of AHL(s) at cell densities of 106 CFU/ml. AHLs were detected in cold-smoked salmon inoculated with strains of Enterobacteriaceae stored at 5°C under an N2 atmosphere when mean cell densities increased to 106 CFU/g and above. Similarly, AHLs were detected in uninoculated samples of commercially produced cold-smoked salmon when the level of indigenous Enterobacteriaceae reached 106 CFU/g. This level of Enterobacteriaceae is often found in lightly preserved foods, and AHL-mediated gene regulation may play a role in bacteria associated with food spoilage or food toxicity.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Danish Institute for Fisheries Research, Department of Seafood Research, Building 221, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark. Phone: 45 4525 2586. Fax: 45 4588 4774. E-mail: gram{at}dfu.min.dk.


Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 1999, p. 3458-3463, Vol. 65, No. 8
0099-2240/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



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