Enterococcus faecalis Responds to Individual Exogenous Fatty Acids Independently of Their Degree of Saturation or Chain Length.

ABSTRACT: Enterococcus faecalis is a commensal of the human gastrointestinal tract that can persist in the external environment and is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. Given its diverse habitats, the organism has developed numerous strategies to survive a multitude of environmental conditions. Previous studies have demonstrated that E. faecalis will incorporate fatty acids from bile and serum into its membrane, resulting in an induced tolerance to membrane-damaging agents. To discern whether all fatty acids induce membrane stress protection, we examined how E. faecalis responded to individually supplied fatty acids. E. faecalis readily incorporated fatty acids 14 to 18 carbons in length into its membrane but poorly incorporated fatty acids shorter or longer than this length. Suppleme

SUBMITTER: Saito HE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5734047 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature