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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2007, p. 1467-1473, Vol. 73, No. 5
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01907-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Histidine Decarboxylases and Their Role in Accumulation of Histamine in Tuna and Dried Saury{triangledown}

Masashi Kanki,1* Tomoko Yoda,1 Teizo Tsukamoto,1 and Eiichiroh Baba2

Division of Bacteriology, Osaka Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Osaka 537-0025, Japan,1 Department of Veterinary Science, Osaka Prefecture University Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka 599-8531, Japan2

Received 10 August 2006/ Accepted 21 December 2006

Histamine-producing bacteria (HPB) such as Photobacterium phosphoreum and Raoultella planticola possess histidine decarboxylase (HDC), which converts histidine into histamine. Histamine fish poisoning (HFP) is attributable to the ingestion of fish containing high levels of histamine produced by HPB. Because freezing greatly decreases the histamine-producing ability of HPB, especially of P. phosphoreum, it has been speculated that HFP is caused by HDC itself from HPB cells autolyzing during frozen storage, even when HPB survive frozen storage. Here we constructed recombinant HDCs of P. phosphoreum, Photobacterium damselae, R. planticola, and Morganella morganii and investigated the ability of HDCs to produce sufficient histamine to cause HFP. To elucidate the character of these HDCs, we examined the specific activity of each recombinant HDC at various temperatures, pH levels, and NaCl concentrations. Further, we also investigated the stability of each HDC under different conditions (in reaction buffer, tuna, and dried saury) at various temperatures. P. damselae HDC readily produced sufficient histamine to cause HFP in fish samples. We consider that if HDC is implicated as an independent cause of HFP in frozen-thawed fish, the most likely causative agent is HDC of P. damselae.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Osaka Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Nakamichi 1-3-69, Higashinari-ku, Osaka 537-0025, Japan. Phone: 81-6-6972-1321. Fax: 81-6-6972-1329. E-mail: kanki{at}iph.pref.osaka.jp.

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 12 January 2007.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2007, p. 1467-1473, Vol. 73, No. 5
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01907-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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