Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Kassem, Issmat I
• Chandrashekhar, Kshipra
• Rajashekara, Gireesh

Titel

Of energy and survival incognito: a relationship between viable but non-culturable cells formation and inorganic polyphosphate and formate metabolism in Campylobacter jejuni

Ist Teil von

• Frontiers in microbiology, 2013, Vol.4, p.183-183

Ort / Verlag

Switzerland: Frontiers Media S.A

Erscheinungsjahr

2013

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

EZB Electronic Journals Library

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Campylobacter jejuni is a Gram-negative food-borne bacterium that can cause mild to serious diseases in humans. A variety of stress conditions including exposure to formic acid, a weak organic acid, can cause C. jejuni to form viable but non-culturable cells (VBNC), which was proposed as a potential survival mechanism. The inability to detect C. jejuni VBNC using standard culturing techniques may increase the risk of exposure to foods contaminated with this pathogen. However, little is known about the cellular mechanisms and triggers governing VBNC formation. Here, we discuss novel mechanisms that potentially affect VBNC formation in C. jejuni and emphasize the impact of formic acid on this process. Specifically, we highlight findings that show that impairing inorganic polyphosphate (poly-P) metabolism reduces the ability of C. jejuni to form VBNC in a medium containing formic acid. We also discuss the potential effect of poly-P and formate metabolism on energy homeostasis and cognate VBNC formation. The relationship between poly-P metabolism and VBNC formation under acid stress has only recently been identified and may represent a breakthrough in understanding this phenomenon and its impact on food safety.