Acid tolerance response of Bordetella bronchiseptica in avirulent phase

Publication date: Available online 5 September 2015 Source:Microbiological Research Author(s): M. Fingermann, D. Hozbor Bordetella bronchiseptica is a Gram-negative bacterium responsible for respiratory diseases in many mammalian hosts, including humans. This pathogen has been shown as able to persist inside the host cells, even in the phagosomes that are acidified to pH 4.5 to 5.0 after bacterial infection. Here we evaluated the resistance of B. bronchiseptica to survive under acidic conditions. In particular we analyzed the bacterial capacity to develop the mechanism known as acid tolerance response (ATR). Our studies were mainly focused on the avirulent phase of the bacteria since this phenotypic phase was reported to be more resistant to environmental stress conditions than the virulent phase. Results from B. bronchiseptica in virulent phase were also included for comparison purposes. In fact, for B. bronchiseptica 9.73 bacteria in virulent phase we observed that the viability of bacteria does not decrease significantly when grown at pH as low as 4.5, but it is affected when the pH of the medium was equal to or less than 4.0. After acid-adaptation at pH 5.5 for several hours, the survival rate of B. bronchiseptica 9.73 at lethal pH 4.0 for 6h was increased. Interestingly, the avirulent phase mediated by the two-component BvgAS system conferred further resistance to lethal acid challenge and a marked increase in the magnitude of the expressed ATR. The ATR for this...
Source: Microbiological Research - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research