Proteomic analysis of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis following propionate adaptation

Salmonella Enteritidis is a highly prevalent and persistent foodborne pathogen and is therefore a leading cause of nontyphoidal gastrointestinal disease worldwide. A variety of stresses are endured throughout its infection cycle, including high concentrations of propionate (PA) within food processing systems and within the gut of infected hosts. Prolonged PA exposure experienced in such milieus may have a drastic effect on the proteome of Salmonella Enteritidis subjected to this stress.

In this study, we used 2 D gel electrophoresis to examine the proteomes of PA adapted and unadapted S. Enteritidis and have identified five proteins that are upregulated in PA adapted cultures using standard peptide mass fingerprinting by MALDI-TOF-MS and sequencing by MALDI LIFT-TOF/TOF tandem mass spectrometry. Of these five, two significant stress-related proteins (Dps and CpxR) were shown (via qRT-PCR analysis) to be upregulated at the transcriptional level as well. Unlike the wild type when adapted to PA (which demonstrates significant acid resistance), PA adapted S. Enteritidis ∆dps and S. Enteritidis ∆cpxR were at a clear disadvantage when challenged to a highly acidic environment. However, we found the acid resistance to be fully restorable after genetic complementation.

This work reveals a significant difference in the proteomes of PA adapted and unadapted S. Enteritidis and affirms the contribution of Dps and CpxR in PA induced acid resistance.