title: Production of small, acid-soluble spore proteins in Clostridium perfringens nonfoodborne gastrointestinal disease isolates.
abstract: The molecular basis for the differences in heat resistance between spores of Clostridium perfringens food-borne versus nonfoodborne isolates remains unknown. Since a recent study demonstrated the role of small, acid-soluble spore proteins (SASPs) in heat resistance of spores of food-borne isolates, in the current study, we evaluated the expression of SASP-encoding genes (ssp) and the production of SASPs in nonfoodborne isolates. Our results demonstrated the presence of all three ssp genes in five surveyed nonfoodborne isolates. A beta-glucuronidase assay showed that these ssp genes are expressed specifically during sporulation. Furthermore, nonfoodborne isolate F4969 produced SASPs at a level similar to that of food-borne isolate SM101. Collectively, these results suggest that the difference in the levels of heat resistance between spores of food-borne and the nonfoodborne isolates is not the result of impaired expression of ssp genes and (or) decreased production of SASPs in nonfoodborne isolates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Department of Microbiology, College of Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
authors.forename: Deepa
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raju
authors.forename: Mahfuzur R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sarker
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D003016:Clostridium perfringens / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D018272:Porins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D018272:Porins