Effect of preliminary stresses on the induction of viable but non-culturable Escherichia coli O157:H7 NCTC 12900 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538

Dong Yang; Liang Zhao; Lei Rao; Xiaojun Liao

doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2023.112710

Effect of preliminary stresses on the induction of viable but non-culturable Escherichia coli O157:H7 NCTC 12900 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538

Food Res Int. 2023 May:167:112710. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2023.112710. Epub 2023 Mar 17.

Authors

Dong Yang¹, Liang Zhao¹, Lei Rao¹, Xiaojun Liao²

Affiliations

¹ College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, National Engineering Research Center for Fruit & Vegetable Processing, Key Laboratory of Fruit & Vegetable Processing, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing Key Laboratory for Food Non-thermal Processing, Beijing 100083, China.
² College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, National Engineering Research Center for Fruit & Vegetable Processing, Key Laboratory of Fruit & Vegetable Processing, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing Key Laboratory for Food Non-thermal Processing, Beijing 100083, China. Electronic address: liaoxjun@cau.edu.cn.

PMID: 37087272
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2023.112710

Abstract

As a novel non-thermal pasteurization technology, high pressure carbon dioxide (HPCD) has been used in food processing. However, it could induce microorganisms into a viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state, posing a potential risk to food safety and public health. In this study, we attempted to investigate the effect of various preliminary stresses including cold, heat, osmosis, acidity and oxidation on HPCD-induced VBNC formation. The results indicated that there was no effect of preliminary stresses on VBNC Staphylococcus aureus induction. However, heat, acidity and long-term (24 h) cultivation preadaptation could significantly increase the VBNC E. coli production induced by HPCD. Transcriptome analysis revealed that genes involved in ATP production were significantly decreased in these three stress-treated cells, and further ATP levels determination revealed that the ATP levels of the cell were significantly decreased after heat, acidity and long-term cultivation preadaptation, implying the decrease of ATP level caused by these stresses might be the reason for increasing VBNC production. To further study the relationship between ATP level and VBNC cell ratios after preadaptation. We artificially decreased the ATP levels, and detect their VBNC ratios after HPCD treatment. We found that with the ATP concentration decreasing after exposure to carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazine (CCCP), the VBNC ratios were increased after HPCD treatment, indicating that the ATP contents were highly negatively correlated with VBNC ratios. This study proved that the preadaptation of heat, acidity and long-term cultivation could promote VBNC induction by decreasing the intracellular ATP level. In general, the obtained result gave the instruction about the storage environment for food materials, helped to further develop and optimize the HPCD processing to prevent VBNC formation and accelerate the development of HPCD technology in food industry.

Keywords: E. coli O157:H7; High pressure carbon dioxide; Preadaptation; Viable but non-culturable.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adenosine Triphosphate / pharmacology
Escherichia coli O157*
Food Handling
Food Safety
Staphylococcus aureus

Substances

Adenosine Triphosphate