Abstract
The high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) response and adaptation was studied of Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis used in food biotechnology. Changes were characterized in the membrane physiology with fluorescent techniques, the proteome with 2-D electrophoresis and the transcriptome with microarracys and real time PCR. The up-regulated proteins and genes included representatives of heat and cold shock corroborating the hypothesis that the cell tries to compensate for pressure induced impairing of membrane transport and translation. Overexpression of ssrA (transfer mRNA) in a barotolerant mutant suggests a role of the ribosome as primary thermodynamic HHP sensor determining the adaptive capacity of the cell. Thus, we propose trans-translation and peptide tagging, processes that promote recycling of stalled ribosomes and prevent accumulation of abortively synthesised polypeptides, to be involved in combating high pressure damage and conferring moderate barotolerance.
