Iron sources used by the nonpathogenic lactic acid bacterium Lactobacillus sakei as revealed by electron energy loss spectroscopy and secondary-ion mass spectrometry.
Lactobacillus sakei is a lactic acid bacterium naturally found on meat. Although it is generally acknowledged that lactic acid bacteria are rare species in the microbial world which do not have iron requirements, the genome sequence of L. sakei 23K has revealed quite complete genetic equipment dedicated to transport and use of this metal. Here, we aimed to investigate which iron sources could be used by this species as well as their role in the bacterium's physiology. Therefore, we developed a microscopy approach based on electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) analysis and nano-scale secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) in order to analyze the iron content of L. sakei cells. This revealed that L. sakei can use iron sources found in its natural ecosystem, myoglobin, hemoglobin, hematin, and transferrin, to ensure long-term survival during stationary phase. This study reveals that analytical image methods (EELS and SIMS) are powerful complementary tools for investigation of metal utilization by bacteria.
Duhutrel
Philippe
P
Unité Flore Lactique et Environnement Carné, UR309, INRA, Domaine de Vilvert, F-78350 Jouy en Josas, France.
Bordat
Christian
C
Wu
Ting-Di
TD
Zagorec
Monique
M
Guerquin-Kern
Jean-Luc
JL
Champomier-Vergès
Marie-Christine
MC
D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism; D006418:Heme / Q000378:metabolism; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000378:metabolism*; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology*; D018629:Spectrometry, Mass, Secondary Ion / Q000379:methods*; D046590:Spectroscopy, Electron Energy-Loss / Q000379:methods*; D014168:Transferrin / Q000378:metabolism
D014168:Transferrin; D006418:Heme; D007501:Iron; D002374:Catalase