Review

Nature Reviews Microbiology 2, 898-907 (November 2004) | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1021

Escherichia coli acid resistance: tales of an amateur acidophile

John W. Foster1  About the author

Top

Gastrointestinal pathogens are faced with an extremely acidic environment. Within moments, a pathogen such as Escherichia coli O157:H7 can move from the nurturing pH 7 environment of a hamburger to the harsh pH 2 milieu of the stomach. Surprisingly, certain microorganisms that grow at neutral pH have elegantly regulated systems that enable survival during excursions into acidic environments. The best-characterized acid-resistance system is found in E. coli.

Author affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Alabama College of Medicine, Mobile, Alabama 36695, USA.
    Email: fosterj@sungcg.usouthal.edu

MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS

These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.

Extra navigation

Subscribe

Subscribe to Nature Reviews Microbiology

Search PubMed for

Open Innovation Challenges

naturejobs

Advertisement