Phage Shock Protein G, a Novel Ethanol-Induced Stress Protein in Salmonella typhimurium

Exposure to ethanol is a stress condition that Salmonella typhimurium often encounters during its life cycle. Food, beverage, drugs, and cosmetics have a long history of using alcohols to control pathogens. Ethanol is also commonly used for disinfecting medical instruments. This study was conducted to evaluate the ethanol stress variations on the protein profile, cell structure, and serologic features of S. typhimurium. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed the phage shock protein G (pspG), a new ethanol-induced stress protein in cells adapted to 10% ethanol. The result was confirmed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The maximum quantity of this 9.02-kDa protein was produced in 12.5% (v/v) of ethanol-treated cultures. Scanning electron microscopy has demonstrated new phenotypic characteristics in bacterial structure. The cells were unable to undergo binary fission. This phenomenon explains the tight attachment of bacteria in a colony. Overall, ethanol extreme stress induced expression of new proteins like PspG and repression of some other proteins in S. typhimurium. These induction and repression processes have inflicted dramatic changes on Salmonella behaviors.