Specific ion effects on the growth rates of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Date
2005
Authors
Lo Nostro, Pierandrea
Ninham, Barry
Lo Nostro, Antonella
Pesavento, Giovanna
Fratoni, Laura
Baglioni, Piero
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Publisher
Institute of Physics Publishing
Abstract
Motivated by recent advances in the physical and chemical basis of the Hofmeister effect, we measured the rate cell growth of S. aureus - a halophilic pathogenic bacterium - and of P. aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen, in the presence of different aqueous salt solutions at different concentrations (0.2, 0.6 and 0.9 M). Microorganism growth rates depend strongly on the kind of anion in the growth medium. In the case of S. aureus, chloride provides a favorable growth medium, while both kosmotropes (water structure makers) and chaotropes (water structure breakers) reduce the microorganism growth. In the case of P. aeruginosa, all ions affect adversely the bacterial survival. In both cases, the trends parallel the specific ion, or Hofmeister, sequences observed in a wide range of physico-chemical systems. The correspondence with specific ion effect obtained in other studies, on the activities of a DNA restriction enzyme, of horseradish peroxidase, and of Lipase A (Aspergillus niger) is particularly striking. This work provides compelling evidence for Hofmeister effects, physical chemistry in action, in these organisms.
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Keywords
Keywords: acid lipase; anion; horseradish peroxidase; restriction endonuclease; sodium chloride; water; aqueous solution; article; Aspergillus niger; bacterial cell; bacterial growth; bacterial survival; cell growth; concentration response; controlled study; cultur
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Source
Physical Biology
Type
Journal article
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2037-12-31