Gene expression induced in Escherichia coli O157:H7 upon exposure to model apple juice

Escherichia coli O157:H7 has caused serious outbreaks of food-borne illness via transmission in a variety of food vehicles, including unpasteurized apple juice, dried salami, and spinach. To understand how this pathogen responds to the multiple stresses of the food environment, we compared global transcription patterns before and after exposure to model apple juice. Transcriptomes of mid-exponential- and stationary-phase cells were evaluated after 10 min in model apple juice (pH 3.5) using microarrays probing 4,886 open reading frames. A total of 331 genes were significantly induced upon exposure of cells to model apple juice, including genes involved in the acid, osmotic, and oxidative stress responses as well as the envelope stress response. Acid and osmotic stress response genes, including asr, osmC, osmB, and osmY, were significantly induced in response to model apple juice. Multiple envelope stress responses were activated as evidenced by increased expression of CpxR and Rcs phosphorelay-controlled genes. Genes controlled by CpxR (cpxP, degP, and htpX) were significantly induced 2- to 15-fold upon exposure to apple juice. Inactivation of CpxRA resulted in a significant decrease in survival of O157:H7 in model apple juice compared to the isogenic parent strain. Of the 331 genes induced in model apple juice, 104 are O157-specific genes, including those encoding type three secretion effectors (espJ, espB, espM2, espL3, and espZ). Elucidating the response of O157:H7 to acidic foods provides insight into how this pathogen is able to survive in food matrices and how exposure to foods influences subsequent transmission and virulence.