Bacterial cell wall material properties determine E. coli resistance to sonolysis

Pandur, Žiga (author), Dular, Matevž (author), Kostanjšek, Rok (author), Stopar, David (author)

The applications of bacterial sonolysis in industrial settings are plagued by the lack of the knowledge of the exact mechanism of action of sonication on bacterial cells, variable effectiveness of cavitation on bacteria, and inconsistent data of its efficiency. In this study we have systematically changed material properties of E. coli cells to probe the effect of different cell wall layers on bacterial resistance to ultrasonic irradiation (20 kHz, output power 6,73 W, horn type, 3 mm probe tip diameter, 1 ml sample volume). We have determined the rates of sonolysis decay for bacteria with compromised major capsular polymers, disrupted outer membrane, compromised peptidoglycan layer, spheroplasts, giant spheroplasts, and in bacteria with different cell physiology. The non-growing bacteria were 5-fold more resistant to sonolysis than growing bacteria. The most important bacterial cell wall structure that determined the outcome during sonication was peptidoglycan. If peptidoglycan was remodelled, weakened, or absent the cavitation was very efficient. Cells with removed peptidoglycan had sonolysis resistance equal to lipid vesicles and were extremely sensitive to sonolysis. The results suggest that bacterial physiological state as well as cell wall architecture are major determinants that influence the outcome of bacterial sonolysis.

• Language: English
• Keywords: viability, bacteria, Escherichia coli, sonication, cell envelope
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty; FS - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2022
• Number of pages: 10 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 83, art. 105919
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-135331
• UDC: 579.23:577.352:544.57
• ISSN on article: 1350-4177
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2022.105919
• COBISS.SI-ID: 93971971
• Publication date in RUL: 08.03.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Ultrasonics Sonochemistry
• Shortened title: Ultrason. sonochem.
• Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann, Elsevier Science
• ISSN: 1350-4177
• COBISS.SI-ID: 707668

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Description: The most restrictive Creative Commons license. This only allows people to download and share the work for no commercial gain and for no other purposes.
• Licensing start date: 18.01.2022

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: bakterijske celice, Escherichia coli, celična ovojnica, liza celic, ultrazvočna sonikacija, sonoliza