Acid Adaptation Protects Salmonella typhimurium From Environmental Stresses

Authors: HALİL TOSUN, ŞAHİKA AKTUĞ GÖNÜL

Abstract: Salmonella typhimurium can encounter a wide variety of environments during its life cycle. S. typhimurium can experience and survive dramatic acid stress. However, in vitro the organism is very sensitive to acid. S. typhimurium was adapted to acid by exposure to HCl at pH 5.8 ± 0.1 for one growth cycle. Acid-adapted cells were much better protected from acid death than control cells. The relationship between acid adaptation of S. typhimurium and tolerance to other environmental stresses was also examined. Acid-adapted cells were found to have increased tolerance to various stresses including heat, salt and organic acids. No cross-protection was noted for cold (3 ± 0.1 °C). Decimal reduction times of acid-adapted and control cells at 50 °C (D_{50}) were also examined. The D_{50} value of acid-adapted cells was considerably higher than that of the control cells. These results show that acid adaptation alters cellular resistance to a variety of environmental stresses.

Keywords: Salmonella typhimurium, acid adaptation, environmental stresses

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