Citrate metabolism in Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum

Information on the factors influencing citrate metabolism in lactobacilli is limited and could be useful in understanding the growth of lactobacilli in ripening cheese. Citrate was not used as an energy source by either Lactobacillus casei ATCC 393 or Lact. plantarum 1919 and did not affect the growth rate when co-metabolized with glucose or galactose. In growing cells, metabolism of citrate was minimal at pH 6 but significant at pH 4·5 and was greater in cells co-metabolizing galactose than in those co-metabolizing glucose or lactose. In non-growing cells, optimum utilization of citrate also occurred at pH 4·5 and was not increased substantially by the presence of fermentable sugars. In both growing and non-growing cells, acetate and acetoin were the major products of citrate metabolism; pyruvate was also produced by non-growing cells and was transformed to acetoin once the citrate was exhausted. Citrate was metabolized more rapidly than sugar by non-growing cells; the reverse was true of growing cells. Citrate metabolism by Lact. plantarum 1919 and Lact. casei ATCC 393 increased six- and 22-fold, respectively, when the cells were pre-grown on galactose plus citrate than when pre-grown on galactose only. This was probably due to induction of citrate lyase by growth on citrate plus sugar. These results imply that lactobacilli, if present in large enough numbers, can metabolize citrate in ripening cheese in the absence of an energy source.     

植物乳杆菌PUM1785抑菌作用及耐胆盐和耐盐性能

目的 通过分析植物乳杆菌PUM1785体外抑菌活性和部分耐受能力,为进一步研发乳杆菌微生态制剂提供理论和数据支持。 方法 以模式菌株WCSF1为对照株,采用双层琼脂点种法进行体外抑菌试验,并开展高胆盐、高盐环境耐受试验。 结果 植物乳杆菌PUM1785体外抑菌活性与模式菌株相近,对6种常见致病菌均有较强的抑制作用,对革兰阴性菌的抑菌效果优于革兰阳性菌。在不同浓度胆盐溶液中培养24 h后,2株乳杆菌生长均受抑制,当胆盐浓度从0 g/100 mL持续增至0.5 g/100 mL后,2株乳杆菌活菌数量呈下降趋势,但始终维持在105 CFU/mL数量级以上,并且PUM1785与WCSF1活菌数量比呈上升趋势;在不同浓度的NaCl溶液中培养24 h后,2株乳杆菌均生长良好,当NaCl浓度从0 g/100 mL升高到8 g/100 mL时,2株乳杆菌活菌数始终维持在108 CFU/mL数量级以上,并且PUM1785与WCSF1活菌数量比呈明显上升趋势。 结论 植物乳杆菌PUM1785具有与模式菌株相近的抑菌活性,对胆盐和高盐环境耐受力均强于模式菌株,表明PUM1785具有良好的生物学特性,可以作为微生态制剂研发的候选菌株。     

Aerobic metabolism in the genus Lactobacillus: impact on stress response and potential applications in the food industry

This review outlines the recent advances in the knowledge on aerobic and respiratory growth of lactic acid bacteria, focusing on the features of respiration‐competent lactobacilli. The species of the genus Lactobacillus have been traditionally classified as oxygen‐tolerant anaerobes, but it has been demonstrated that several strains are able to use oxygen as a substrate in reactions mediated by flavin oxidases and, in some cases, to synthesize a minimal respiratory chain. The occurrence of genes related to aerobic and respiratory metabolism and to oxidative stress response apparently correlates with the taxonomic position of lactobacilli. Members of the ecologically versatile Lactobacillus casei, L. plantarum and L. sakei groups are apparently best equipped to deal with aerobic/respiratory growth. The shift from anaerobic growth to aerobic (oxygen) and/or respiratory promoting (oxygen, exogenous haem and menaquinone) conditions offers physiological advantages and affects the pattern of metabolite production in several species. Even if this does not result in dramatic increases in biomass production and growth rate, cells grown in these conditions have improved tolerance to heat and oxidative stresses. An overview of benefits and of the potential applications of Lactobacillus cultures grown under aerobic or respiratory conditions is also discussed.     

Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus plantarum responses to osmotic stress

Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus plantarum were subjected to final water potentials of −5.6 MPa and −11.5 MPa with three solutes: glycerol, sorbitol and NaCl. The water potential decrease was realized either rapidly (osmotic shock) or slowly (20 min) and a difference in cell viability between these conditions was only observed when the solute was NaCl. The cell mortality during osmotic shocks induced by NaCl cannot be explained by a critical volume decrease or by the intensity of the water flow across the cell membrane. When the osmotic stress is realized with NaCl as the solute, in a medium in which osmoregulation cannot take place, the application of a slow decrease in water potential resulted in the significant maintenance of cell viability (about 70–90%) with regard to the corresponding viability observed after a sudden step change to same final water potential (14–40%). This viability difference can be explained by the existence of a critical internal free Na⁺ concentration. Received: 20 May 1998 / Received revision: 31 July 1998 / Accepted: 31 July 1998     

Citrate metabolism by Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from orange juice

The behaviour of Strains of Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from fermented orange juice and Lact. plantarum DSM 20174 was studied in the presence of citrate. When used as sole carbon source, citrate scarcely supported the growth of the bacteria. It was shown to enhance the growth of Lact. plantarum in glucose media. Under acid conditions (pH 4·0–5·0), 1 mol of citrate yielded 1·7 mol of acetate as sole major final metabolite with release of CO₂ in the gas phase.     

Rapid identification of Lactobacillus plantarum group using the SNaPshot minisequencing assay

This study used SNaPshot minisequencing for species identification within the Lactobacillus plantarum group. A SNaPshot minisequencing assay using dnaK as a target gene was developed, and five SNP primers were designed by analysing the conserved regions of the dnaK sequences. The specificity of the minisequencing assay was evaluated using 35 strains of L. plantarum group species. The results showed that the SNaPshot minisequencing assay was able to unambiguously and simultaneously discriminate strains belonging to the species L. plantarum subsp. plantarum, L. plantarum subsp. argentoratensis, Lactobacillus paraplantarum, Lactobacillus pentosus and Lactobacillus fabifermentans. In conclusion, a rapid, accurate and cost-effective assay was successfully developed for species identification of the members of the L. plantarum group.     

Oxygen metabolism of catalase-negative and catalase-positive strains of Lactobacillus plantarum.

Two catalase-negative strains of Lactobacillus plantarum and a strain producing the atypical, nonheme catalase were studied to determine if the ability to produce the atypical catalase conferred any growth advantage upon the producing strain. Both catalase-negative strains grew more rapidly than the catalase-positive strain under aerobic or anaerobic conditions in a glucose-containing, complex medium. Upon exhaustion of glucose from the medium, all three strains continued growth under aerobic but not under anaerobic conditions. The continued aerobic growth was accompanied by production of acetic acid in addition to the lactic acid produced during growth on glucose. Oxygen was taken up by exponential phase-cell suspensions grown on glucose when glucose or glycerol were used as substrates. Cells harvested from glucose-exhausted medium oxidized glucose, glycerol, and pyruvate. Oxygen utilization by a catalase-negative strain increased as did the specific activity of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide peroxidase during late growth in the glucose-exhausted medium. The catalase-positive strain and the catalase-negative strain tested both possessed low but readily detectable levels of superoxide dismutase throughout growth. The growth responses are discussed in terms of the presence of enzymes which would allow the cells to remove potentially damaging reduction products of O2.     

Heme metabolism and oxidative stress

The role of heme metabolism in oxidative stress development and defense reactions formation in mammals under different stress factors are discussed in the article. Heme metabolism is considered as the totality of synthesis, degradation, transport and exchange processes of exogenous heme and heme liberated from erythrocyte hemoglobin under erythrocyte aging and hemolysis. The literature data presented display normal heme metabolism including mammals heme-binding proteins and intracellular free heme pool and heme metabolism alterations under oxidative stress development. The main attention is focused to the prooxidant action of heme, the interaction of heme transport and lipid exchange, and to the heme metabolism key enzymes (delta-aminolevulinate synthase and heme oxygenase), serum heme-binding protein hemopexin and intracellular heme-binding proteins participating in metabolism adaptation under the action of factors, which cause oxidative stress.     

Physiological role of pyruvate oxidase in the aerobic metabolism of Lactobacillus plantarum.

Under aerobic growth conditions Lactobacillus plantarum produced acetic acid in addition to lactic acid. It was found that lactic acid was predominantly produced at first, and then when the carbohydrate was nearly exhausted, lactic acid was metabolized further to acetic acid. The most likely enzyme involved in the aerobic metabolism of L. plantarum is pyruvate oxidase. Its activity is enhanced in the presence of oxygen and is reduced in the presence of glucose. The specific activity of pyruvate oxidase is highest at the beginning of the stationary-growth phase, where a strong increase in acetic acid production was also observed.     

Effect of carnitines on Lactobacillus plantarum subjected to osmotic stress

We investigated the effect of carnitine analogues on the physiology of Lactobacillus plantarum subjected to salt stress. Salt stressed cells of L. plantarum accumulated exogenously provided carnitine and its structural analogues acetylcarnitine and propionylcarnitine to maximum concentrations of 466, 122 and 75 μmol (g dry weight of cells)⁻¹, respectively. Addition of these carnitines to osmotically stressed medium increased growth rate. Furthermore, the intracellular amino acid pool, consisting of mainly aspartate and glutamate, was reduced when carnitine, acetylcarnitine or propionylcarnitine were included in the medium. This is the first study demonstrating a role for β-substituted acylcarnitine esters in osmoadaptation of a lactic acid bacterium.     

Identification of prebiotic fructooligosaccharide metabolism in Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1 through microarrays

Short-chain fructooligosaccharides (scFOS) and other prebiotics are used to selectively stimulate the growth and activity of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria in the colon. However, there is little information on the mechanisms whereby prebiotics exert their specific effects upon such microorganisms. To study the genomic basis of scFOS metabolism in Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1, two-color microarrays were used to screen for differentially expressed genes when grown on scFOS compared to glucose (control). A significant up-regulation (8- to 60-fold) was observed with a set of only five genes located in a single locus and predicted to encode a sucrose phosphoenolpyruvate transport system (PTS), a beta-fructofuranosidase, a fructokinase, an alpha-glucosidase, and a sucrose operon repressor. Several other genes were slightly overexpressed, including pyruvate dehydrogenase. For the latter, no detectable activity in L. plantarum under various growth conditions has been previously reported. A mannose-PTS likely to encode glucose uptake was 50-fold down-regulated as well as, to a lower extent, other PTSs. Chemical analysis of the different moieties of scFOS that were depleted in the growth medium revealed that the trisaccharide 1-kestose present in scFOS was preferentially utilized, in comparison with the tetrasaccharide nystose and the pentasaccharide fructofuranosylnystose. The main end products of scFOS fermentation were lactate and acetate. This is the first example in lactobacilli of the association of a sucrose PTS and a beta-fructofuranosidase that could be used for scFOS degradation.     

High tolerance of wild Lactobacillus plantarum and Oenococcus oeni strains to lyophilisation and stress environmental conditions of acid pH and ethanol

A total of 76 Lactobacillus plantarum and Oenococcus oeni wild strains were recovered from traditionally elaborated Spanish red wines and were investigated with respect to their response to acid pH, lyophilisation, temperature and ethanol concentrations which are normally lethal to lactic acid bacteria. Both L. plantarum and O. oeni strains were able to grow at pH 3.2, were highly resistant to lyophilisation treatment and proliferated in the presence of up to 13% ethanol at 18 degrees C. Therefore, it is shown that both species are highly tolerant to stress conditions and that similarly to O. oeni strains, L. plantarum strains are of interest in beverage biotechnology.     

超高压对植物乳杆菌能量代谢影响的研究

以植物乳杆菌ATCC8014为试材,研究超高压对其能量代谢的影响。建立了用氯化碘硝基四唑紫测定ATCC8014的INT代谢还原活性的比色法。用比色法测定了超高压对ATCC8014的INT代谢还原活性与葡萄糖利用的影响。试验结果表明,150~250MPa作用15min在MRS琼脂培养基上随着压力的增大菌落数显著降低,INT代谢还原活性降低显著,葡萄糖的利用变化不明显;超过300MPa后,葡萄糖的利用才显著降低;400MPa处理15min,尽管在MRS琼脂培养基上菌落数低于检测限,INT代谢还原活性为0%,而葡萄糖的利用能力仍为对照组的56.1%,超高压作用下ATCC8014的灭活与INT代谢还原活性的降低的相关性较好。说明ATCC8014的细胞膜上参与葡萄糖的吸收和运输的酶、糖酵解的酶与调节系统比三羧酸循环的酶与调节系统较耐压。三羧酸循环比糖酵解对超高压敏感,三羧酸循环的抑制是超高压灭活其的重要原因,这为了探讨超高压杀灭植物乳杆菌的机制提供了一定的理论依据。     

Oxygen Metabolism in Lactobacillus plantarum

Lactobacillus plantarum, although able to grow in the presence of oxygen, was found to retain a completely anaerobic metabolism. Thus, L. plantarum did not consume detectable amounts of oxygen and did not contain measureable amounts of those enzyme activities which serve to protect anaerobic cells against the lethality of O(2) (-) and of H(2)O(2). Superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase appeared to be absent from these cells. L. plantarum was unusually resistant towards hyperbaric oxygen, indicating that it did not reduce oxygen even when exposed to high concentrations of this gas. A photochemical reaction mixture, known to generate O(2) (-), did kill L. plantarum. The lethality was diminished by superoxide dismutase, catalase, or mannitol and was augmented by H(2)O(2). This suggests that the lethal agent generated in the photochemical system was primarily OH., generated from the reaction of O(2) (-) with H(2)O(2).     

Effect of oleuropein and sodium chloride on viability and metabolism of Lactobacillus plantarum

 The effect of the addition of oleuropein (OLP) and NaCl on the growth and the DL-lactic acid production of Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 10492 has been investigated by using an unconventional medium. The growth of L. plantarum was not inhibited by the addition of increasing amounts of untreated OLP in the presence or absence of glucose. However, bacterial cells grew in quantity slightly with OLP alone. The increased addition of NaCl was associated with a delay in growth. Moreover, there was no growth with 8% NaCl. The addition of both NaCl and OLP resulted in growth inhibition, and the survival of cells decreased strongly. The main fermentation product was DL-lactic acid, but acetic acid was also detected after a prolonged incubation. L. plantarum produced DL-lactic acid in the presence of OLP alone but its formation decreased with increasing levels of OLP. On the other hand, heat-treated OLP had a bactericidal effect. Received: 16 October 1995/Received last revision: 5 February 1996/Accepted: 12 February 1996