Effect of High Hydrostatic Pressure on Stress-Related dnaK, hrcA, and ctsR Expression Patterns in Selected Lactobacilli Strains

Joanna Bucka-Kolendo; Edyta Juszczuk-Kubiak; Barbara Sokołowska

doi:10.3390/genes12111720

Effect of High Hydrostatic Pressure on Stress-Related dnaK, hrcA, and ctsR Expression Patterns in Selected Lactobacilli Strains

Genes (Basel). 2021 Oct 28;12(11):1720. doi: 10.3390/genes12111720.

Authors

Joanna Bucka-Kolendo¹, Edyta Juszczuk-Kubiak², Barbara Sokołowska^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, Culture Collection of Industrial Microorganisms-Microbiological Resource Center, Prof. Wacław Dąbrowski Institute of Agricultural and Food Biotechnology-State Research Institute, 02-532 Warsaw, Poland.
² Department of Microbiology, Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Engineering, Prof. Wacław Dąbrowski Institute of Agriculture and Food Biotechnology-State Research Institute, 02-532 Warsaw, Poland.
³ Department of Microbiology, Prof. Wacław Dąbrowski Institute of Agricultural and Food Biotechnology-State Research Institute, 02-532 Warsaw, Poland.
⁴ Institute of High Pressure Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, 01-142 Warsaw, Poland.

Abstract

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in the natural environment meet multiple stressors such as pH and temperature variations, increased nutrition and metabolite concentrations, harmful chemicals, acidic/oxidative conditions, osmotic pressure, and starvation. However, LAB strains are not subjected to high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) which currently is the most common non-thermal decontamination technology in the food industry. In this context, the LAB response to HHP is more difficult to identify compared to other stress-induced responses, and dnaK, ctsR, and hrcA can serve as essential regulators in this reaction. In the present study, the expression level of dnaK, ctsR, and hrcA mRNAs in 15 LAB strains after the HHP (300 MPa/5') exposure was evaluated. As a result, the HHP-treatment affected the up-regulation of dnaK, ctsR, and hrcA in L. backii KKP 3565, L. backii KKP 3566, L. rhamnosus KKP 3570, L. brevis KKP 3575 strains, whereas, in L. plantarum KKP 3569, L. rhamnosus KKP 3571, L. brevis KKP 3573 all genes were lower expressed. The relative expression level of the dnaK, ctsR, and hrcA either before or after the pressure treatment for L. brevis DSM 6235, L. rhamnosus KKP 3572, L. brevis KKP 3574, L. brevis KKP 3576, L. rossiae KKP 3577, L. curvatus KKP 3578 strains were undetectable. Significant differences in the expression levels were observed, between the control and the HHP treatment strains for dnaK in L. backii KKP 3565, L. backii KKP 3566, L. plantarum KKP 3569, L. rhamnosus KKP 3570, L. rhamnosus KKP 3571, ctsR in, L. backii KKP 3565, L. rhamnosus KKP 3570, L. rhamnosus KKP 3571, and hrcA in L. plantarum KKP 3569, L. rhamnosus KKP 3571. Overall, the studied genes, dnaK, ctsR, and hrcA can be useful markers to indicate the LAB cellular response to HHP. These molecular parameters can help to optimize the desirable LAB growing conditions in industrial processes and to understand the complexity of the stress-related mechanism.

Keywords: gene expression; high hydrostatic pressure (HHP); lactic acid bacteria (LAB); stress-related genes.

MeSH terms

Bacterial Proteins / genetics*
Decontamination
Food Microbiology
Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
Hydrostatic Pressure
Lactobacillus / classification*
Lactobacillus / genetics
Lactobacillus / growth & development
Phylogeny
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
Repressor Proteins / genetics*
Sequence Analysis, RNA / methods*
Species Specificity

Substances

Bacterial Proteins
CtsR protein, bacteria
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Repressor Proteins