The CLO3403/CLO3404 Two-Component System of Clostridium botulinum E1 Beluga Is Important for Cold Shock Response and Growth at Low Temperatures

• Published in: Applied and Environmental Microbiology
• Main Authors: Mascher, Gerald, Derman, Yağmur, Kirk, David G., Palonen, Eveliina, Lindström, Miia, Korkeala, Hannu
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Society for Microbiology 2014
• Subjects: Beluga; Beluga*
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.03204-13; https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/AEM.03204-13

ABSTRACT In order to survive a temperature downshift, bacteria have to sense the changing environment and adjust their metabolism and structure. Two-component signal transduction systems (TCSs) play a central role in sensing and responding to many different environmental stimuli. Although the nonproteolytic (group II) Clostridium botulinum represents a major hazard in chilled foods, the cold adaption mechanisms of group II C. botulinum organisms are not known. Here, we show that the CLO3403/CLO3404 TCS of C. botulinum E1 Beluga is involved in the cold shock response and growth at 12°C. Cold shock induced the expression of the genes encoding the histidine kinase ( clo3403 ) and the response regulator ( clo3404 ) by more than 100-fold after 5 h relative to their expression in a nonshocked culture at the corresponding time point. The involvement of CLO3403/CLO3404 in growth at low temperature was demonstrated by impaired growth of the insertional clo3403 and clo3404 knockout mutants at 12°C compared to the growth of the wild-type culture. Additionally, the inactivation of clo3403 had a negative effect on motility. The growth efficiency at 12°C of the TCS mutants and the motility of the kinase mutants were restored by introducing a plasmid harboring the operon of the CLO3403/CLO3404 TCS. The results suggest that the CLO3403/CLO3404 TCS is important for the cold tolerance of C. botulinum E1 Beluga.