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EMBO reports 4, 4, 400–404 (2003)
doi:10.1038/sj.embor.embor799
AOP Published online: 21 March 2003
Differential oxidative damage and expression of stress defence regulons in culturable and non-culturable Escherichia coli cells
Benoît Desnues1, Caroline Cuny1, Gérald Grégori2, 3, Sam Dukan1, 4, Hugo Aguilaniu2, 3 & Thomas Nyström2, 3
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1 Laboratoire de Microbiologie Marine, CNRS–INSU–UMR 6117, Université de la Méditerranée, Campus de Luminy Case 907, 163 Avenue de Luminy, F-13288 Marseille Cedex 09, France
2 Department of Cell and Molecular Biology—Microbiology, Göteborg University, Medicinaregatan 9C, 413 90 Göteborg, Sweden
3 Department of Microbiology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 12, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
4 Present address: Laboratoire de Chimie Bactérienne, CNRS UPR9043-31, Chemin Joseph Aiguier,13402 Marseille Cedex 20, France
To whom correspondence should be addressed
Sam Dukan Tel: +33 4 91 16 46 69; Fax: +33 4 91 71 89 14; sdukan@ibsm.cnrs-mrs.fr
Received 14 November 2002; Accepted 24 January 2003; Published online 21 March 2003.
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Abstract
Potentially pathogenic bacteria, such as Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholerae, become non-culturable during stasis. The analysis of such cells has been hampered by difficulties in studying bacterial population heterogeneity. Using in situ detection of protein oxidation in single E. coli cells, and using a density-gradient centrifugation technique to separate culturable and non-culturable cells, we show that the proteins in non-culturable cells show increased and irreversible oxidative damage, which affects various bacterial compartments and proteins. The levels of expression of specific stress regulons are higher in non-culturable cells, confirming increased defects relating to oxidative damage and the occurrence of aberrant, such as by amino-acid misincorporation, proteins. Our data suggest that non-culturable cells are produced due to stochastic deterioration, rather than an adaptive programme, and pinpoint oxidation management as the 'Achilles heel' of these cells.
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