When strains of Escherichia coli K12 and Salmonella spp. were incubated with 0.5-0.7 mol/l formic or propionic acid at pH 5.0, propionic acid was more active than formic acid. It killed 90% of the cell population within 60 min compared with over 3 h for formic acid. Cell death was not associated with a reduction in culture turbidity or a loss of membrane integrity since morphologically normal membranes were observed by electron microscopy and only a small proportion of the cytoplasmic enzyme beta-galactosidase leaked into the supernatant fluid of acid-treated E. coli K12 cultures.
Incubating cultures of Escherichia coli with propionic acid (5 mmol/l) or formic acid (10 mmol/l) at pH 5.0 produced bacteriostasis lasting 30 and 120 min respectively. During this time rates of RNA, DNA, protein, lipid and cell wall synthesis were reduced. Growth resumed after continued incubation in the presence of acid, but cells from acid-treated cultures were larger than controls. DNA synthesis was particularly sensitive to the presence of the propionic or formic acid.
Incidence of pseudomonads inhibitory to the root growth of till and no-till seeded crops winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), pea ( Pisum sativum), lentil (Lens culinaris), and no-till winter barley (Hordeum vulgare), top and bottom of a seeded slope, and on the weed downy brome (Bromus tectorum) was investigated. Pseudomonads on the rhizoplane of these plants ranged from 10 6 to l0 8 colony-forming units (cfu) per gram dry weight of root. Neither tillage management nor site on a seeded slope affected colonizing numbers. Total numbers of pseudomonads were reduced in a second sampling, particularly on winter barley roots. However, more inhibitory pseudomonads were found in the second sampling. Several of the isolates, both inhibitory and stimulatory from different host plants, were bioassayed against winter wheat seedlings. Generally, the effect was different on the winter wheat than on the host plant indicating the organisms had some specificity. Several pseudomonads were isolated that severely reduced downy brome root growth and not that of winter wheat.
Sublethal concentrations of formic acid (10 mmol/l) and propionic acid (5 mmol/l) at pH 5.0 preferentially inhibit DNA synthesis and stop cell multiplication in the absence of a corresponding cessation in the increase of culture turbidity. The possibility that the acids induce the SOS response by starving cells of thymine or by causing physical damage to the DNA molecule has now been investigated. Accumulation of thymine into the cytoplasm of whole cells was not inhibited by either acid. Mutants defective in excision repair (uvr A6), recombination repair (rec A56) and polymerase activity (pol A1) were not more sensitive to the acids than their isogenic parent. No significant increase in cell length was observed from measurements of transmission electron microscope images of acid-treated cells. It is concluded, therefore, that sublethal concentrations of formic and propionic acid inhibit DNA synthesis without physically damaging DNA molecule, or starving the cell of essential thymine or otherwise inducing an SOS response.
Acetic and lactic acids and BioAdd, a commercial preparation of formic and propionic acid, were tested at a concentration of 0.1% (w/w) at 20, 30, 40 and 50 degrees C and in the presence of organic material for bactericidal activity against Salmonella serotype Kedougou. BioAdd was the most active of the solutions at all temperatures, followed by lactic acid and acetic acid. The presence of horse blood at all four temperatures, and milk and serum at 50 degrees C, did not greatly affect the antibacterial activity of the acids although yeast extract (50 degrees C) provided some protection for the salmonella. Acid activity was related to low pH values although the bactericidal activity of acetic acid with blood and milk was greater than the unadulterated acid even though the pH was 0.4 units higher.
A 24 h screen which detects three viable salmonella cells per g of faeces was compared with classical isolation procedures for their ability to identify salmonella-positive samples from a pig rearing unit. The screen involved an overnight enrichment in Muller-Kauffmann tetrathionate (MK) broth, subculture for 4 h in M broth containing 10 micrograms ml-1 novobiocin, followed by detection of the presence of salmonellas by BacTrace and Salmonella-tek ELISAs. The classical protocols were: (1) an overnight and 48 h incubation in MK or selenite cysteine broth; or (2) overnight incubation in buffered peptone water and 24 h subculture in Rappaport-Vassiliadis broth (BPW-RV). Salmonellas were isolated from the broth cultures on xylose lysine deoxycholate and brilliant green agars. Thirty four of 100 samples were positive for salmonellas but no single isolation protocol identified all of them. The best of the classical isolation protocols, 48 h incubation in MK broth, identified 27 (79%) of the 34 positive samples whilst the screen identified 26 (76%) of the 34 positive samples. False-positive results were obtained from all isolation protocols except BPW-RV.
Poultry processing plant equipment was sampled for Escherichia coli either sequentially during single processing runs or once weekly for 6 weeks. The biotyping of the isolations revealed a heterogeneous E. coli population. The majority of biotypes were identified on one occasion only and never on more than three occasions under both sampling regimes. Although a proportion of the biotypes were recovered from equipment after cleaning, it was concluded that thorough cleaning and disinfection procedures should control E. coli contamination of slaughterhouse equipment.
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