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A pH-Dependent Gene Expression Enables Bacillus amyloliquefaciens MBNC to Adapt to Acid Stress

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Abstract

Acid tolerance response (ATR), a process by which bacteria optimize their growth conditions for cellular functions, is a well-characterized bacterial stress response. A bacterial isolate identified, as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens MBNC, was isolated from acidic soil and studied for its acid tolerance response under several range of acidic stress conditions imposed through inorganic acid, organic acid, acetate buffer, and soil extract. The ability of the B. amyloliquefaciens MBNC to tolerate extreme acidic conditions (pH 4.5) increased when exposed to moderate-acidic pH (pH 5.5). Along with ATR, the bacterial cell density was also critical to its ability to tolerate low pH as the cells of late log phase were more tolerant to low pH stress compared to the early log phase cells. A comparative expression study of 28 genes of B. amyloliquefaciens MBNC was assessed in cells grown in neutral (pH 7.0) and acidic condition (pH 4.5) through qRT-PCR. Among the 28 genes analyzed, 24 genes showed increased expression whereas the expression of 4 genes was downregulated under acid stress indicating to the involvement of the genes in acid stress response.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India and DBT-North East Centre for Agricultural Biotechnology (DBT-NECAB), Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Jorhat, India, for financial support. The authors are grateful to Dr. M. K. Modi, Head, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Dr. B. K. Sarmah, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) National Professor, DBT-NECAB, AAU, Jorhat for providing the indispensable facilities and suggestions.

Funding

This research work was supported by funds received from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India for the project “Screening of soil microbes for acid tolerance gene” under DBT-NECAB, Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Jorhat, India.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DBT-North East Centre for Agricultural Biotechnology, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, 785013, Assam, India

    Naimisha Chowdhury, Gunajit Goswami & Madhumita Barooah

  2. Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, 785013, Assam, India

    Naimisha Chowdhury, Robin Chandra Boro & Madhumita Barooah

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  1. Naimisha Chowdhury
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Conceptualization and Methodology: MB, NC, and GG; Formal Analysis and Investigation: NC and GG; Resources: RCB, MB; Data Curation: GG; Writing—Original Draft Preparation: NC; Writing—Review & Editing, GG, RCB, and MB; Visualization: NC; Supervision: MB; RCB; Project Administration: MB.

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Correspondence to Madhumita Barooah.

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Chowdhury, N., Goswami, G., Boro, R.C. et al. A pH-Dependent Gene Expression Enables Bacillus amyloliquefaciens MBNC to Adapt to Acid Stress. Curr Microbiol 78, 3104–3114 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-021-02573-y

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