High salinity sporulation in Bacillus subtilis results in coat dependant enhanced resistance to both heat and hydrogen peroxide

Freire, Víctor ; Orera, Irene ; Condón, Santiago (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Gayán, Elisa (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: In natural niches, spore-formers encounter non-optimal sporulation conditions that can affect spore resistance properties. However, while the influence of sporulation temperature on spore behaviour has been widely studied, knowledge concerning the influence of other factors such as water activity (aw) is scarce. We previously reported that reducing the aw of the sporulation medium from the optimum (aw 0.99; Scontrol spores) to 0.98 using sodium chloride (Ssalt spores) increased the wet heat resistance of Bacillus subtilis 168 spores. The present work aimed to examine the mechanism behind the increased heat resistance observed in Ssalt spores. The crust morphogenetic protein CotY was required for the increased heat resistance and increased resistance to H2O2 in Ssalt spores. Label-free quantitative proteomics of Scontrol and Ssalt spores revealed markedly different protein profiles. Specifically, Ssalt spores displayed significant increases in abundance of proteins involved in redox homeostasis, as well as changes in coat structural proteins, some of which are involved in protein–protein interactions. This work advances our understanding of how the coat modulates resistance in bacterial spores, helping develop effective control strategies against problematic spore populations due to occurring environmental changes.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2025.117248

Año: 2025

Publicado en: Food Research International 221, Part. 1 (2025), 117248 [11 pp.]
ISSN: 0963-9969

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/PID2019-104712RA-I00

Tipo y forma: Artículo (Versión definitiva)

Área (Departamento): Área Tecnología de Alimentos (Dpto. Produc.Animal Cienc.Ali.)