Thymol tolerance in Escherichia coli induces morphological, metabolic and genetic changes.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Thymol is a phenolic compound used for its wide spectrum antimicrobial activity. There is a limited understanding of the antimicrobial mechanisms underlying thymol activity. To investigate this, E. coli strain JM109 was exposed to thymol at sub-lethal concentrations and after 16 rounds of exposure, isolates with a 2-fold increased minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) were recovered (JM109-Thy^r). The phenotype was stable after multiple sub-cultures without thymol.

Results

Cell morphology studies by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) suggest that thymol renders bacterial cell membranes permeable and disrupts cellular integrity. ¹H Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data showed an increase in lactate and the lactic acid family amino acids in the

SUBMITTER: Al-Kandari F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6915861 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature