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The role of bacterial cell envelope structures in acid stress resistance in E. coli

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Abstract

Acid resistance (AR) is an indispensable mechanism for the survival of neutralophilic bacteria, such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains that survive in the gastrointestinal tract. E. coli acid tolerance has been extensively studied during past decades, with most studies focused on gene regulation and mechanisms. However, the role of cell membrane structure in the context of acid stress resistance has not been discussed in depth. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the roles and mechanisms of the E. coli cell envelope from different membrane components, such as membrane proteins, fatty acids, chaperones, and proton-consuming systems, and particularly focus on the innovative effects revealed by recent studies. We hope that the information guides us to understand the bacterial survival strategies under acid stress and to further explore the AR regulatory mechanisms to prevent or treat E. coli and other related Gram-negative bacteria infection, or to enhance the AR of engineering E. coli.

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Funding

The work described in this paper was partially supported by a grant with the Grant Nos. 2017YFD0500105 and 2016YFD0500905 from the National Key Research and Development Program of China, grants from the Chinese National Science Foundation Grant (Nos. 31672579, 30571374, 30771603, 31072136, 31270171), a project founded by the Priority Academic Program of Development Jiangsu High Education Institution, grants from Jiangsu Science and Technology Bureau Project (BE2017342), and the Yangzhou Science and Technology Bureau International Cooperation Project (YZ2018154).

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  1. Zhendong Li and Boyu Jiang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of Ministry of Education of China, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China

    Zhendong Li, Boyu Jiang, Xinyi Zhang, Yang Yang & Guoqiang Zhu

  2. College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA

    Philip R. Hardwidge

  3. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition Control, Subtropical Institute of Animal Nutrition and Feed, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

    Wenkai Ren

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  1. Zhendong Li
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  2. Boyu Jiang
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  4. Yang Yang
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Correspondence to Wenkai Ren or Guoqiang Zhu.

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Li, Z., Jiang, B., Zhang, X. et al. The role of bacterial cell envelope structures in acid stress resistance in E. coli. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 104, 2911–2921 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-020-10453-x

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