Adaptation and preadaptation of Salmonella enterica to Bile.

ABSTRACT: Bile possesses antibacterial activity because bile salts disrupt membranes, denature proteins, and damage DNA. This study describes mechanisms employed by the bacterium Salmonella enterica to survive bile. Sublethal concentrations of the bile salt sodium deoxycholate (DOC) adapt Salmonella to survive lethal concentrations of bile. Adaptation seems to be associated to multiple changes in gene expression, which include upregulation of the RpoS-dependent general stress response and other stress responses. The crucial role of the general stress response in adaptation to bile is supported by the observation that RpoS(-) mutants are bile-sensitive. While adaptation to bile involves a response by the bacterial population, individual cells can become bile-resistant without adaptation: plating of a

SUBMITTER: Hernandez SB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3261920 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature