High hydrostatic pressure resistance of Campylobacter jejuni after different sublethal stresses.
OBJECTIVE
To study the development of resistance responses in Campylobacter jejuni to high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatments after the exposure to different stressful conditions that may be encountered in food-processing environments, such as acid pH, elevated temperatures and cold storage.


RESULTS
Campylobacter jejuni cells in exponential and stationary growth phase were exposed to different sublethal stresses (acid, heat and cold shocks) prior to evaluate the development of resistance responses to HHP. For exponential-phase cells, neither of the conditions tested increased nor decreased HHP resistance of C. jejuni. For stationary-phase cells, acid and heat adaptation-sensitized C. jejuni cells to the subsequent pressure treatment. On the contrary, cold-adapted stationary-phase cells developed resistance to HHP.


CONCLUSIONS
Whereas C. jejuni can be classified as a stress sensitive micro-organism, our findings have demonstrated that it can develop resistance responses under different stressing conditions. The resistance of stationary phase C. jejuni to HHP was increased after cells were exposed to cold temperatures.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study contribute to a better knowledge of the physiology of C. jejuni and its survival to food preservation agents. Results here presented may help in the design of combined processes for food preservation based on HHP technology.
Sagarzazu
N
N
Tecnología de Alimentos, Facultad de Veterinaria de Zaragoza, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
Cebrián
G
G
Condón
S
S
Mackey
B
B
Mañas
P
P
D000143:Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D003080:Cold Temperature; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005519:Food Preservation; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D006874:Hydrostatic Pressure; D013312:Stress, Physiological
D000143:Acids