This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Zhang, J.
Right arrow Articles by Chen, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Zhang, J.
Right arrow Articles by Chen, J.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Zhang, J.
Right arrow Articles by Chen, J.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2007, p. 5268-5275, Vol. 73, No. 16
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02787-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Glutathione Protects Lactococcus lactis against Acid Stress{triangledown}

Juan Zhang,1 Rui-Yan Fu,1,4 Jeroen Hugenholtz,3 Yin Li,2* and Jian Chen1*

Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, and School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, People's Republic of China,1 Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China,2 Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences, Kluyver Centre for Genomics of Industrial Fermentation, and NIZO food research, 6710 BA Ede, The Netherlands,3 Laboratory of Tea Biochemistry & Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Education, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, People's Republic of China4

Received 29 November 2006/ Accepted 19 June 2007

Previously we showed that glutathione (GSH) can protect Lactococcus lactis against oxidative stress (Y. Li et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69:5739-5745, 2003). In the present study, we show that the GSH imported by L. lactis subsp. cremoris SK11 or produced by engineered L. lactis subsp. cremoris NZ9000 can protect both strains against a long-term mild acid challenge (pH 4.0) and a short-term severe acid challenge (pH 2.5). This shows for the first time that GSH can protect a gram-positive bacterium against acid stress. During acid challenge, strain SK11 containing imported GSH and strain NZ9000 containing self-produced GSH exhibited significantly higher intracellular pHs than the control. Furthermore, strain SK11 containing imported GSH had a significantly higher activity of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase than the control. These results suggest that the acid stress resistance of starter culture can be improved by selecting L. lactis strains capable of producing or importing GSH.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address for Jian Chen: School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi 214122, People's Republic of China. Phone and fax: 86-510-85918309. E-mail: jchen{at}jiangnan.edu.cn. Mailing address for Yin Li: Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China. Phone and fax: 86-10-64807485. E-mail: yli{at}im.ac.cn

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 29 June 2007.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2007, p. 5268-5275, Vol. 73, No. 16
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02787-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Liu, G., Zhou, J., Fu, Q. S., Wang, J. (2009). The Escherichia coli Azoreductase AzoR Is Involved in Resistance to Thiol-Specific Stress Caused by Electrophilic Quinones. J. Bacteriol. 191: 6394-6400 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»