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Journal of Bacteriology, August 2001, p. 4509-4516, Vol. 183, No. 15
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.15.4509-4516.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Respiration Capacity of the Fermenting Bacterium Lactococcus lactis and Its Positive Effects on Growth and Survival

Patrick Duwat,¹ Sophie Sourice,¹ Bénédicte Cesselin,¹ Gilles Lamberet,¹ Karin Vido,¹ Philippe Gaudu,¹ Yves Le Loir,¹ Florent Violet,¹ Pascal Loubière,² and Alexandra Gruss^1,*

Génétique Appliquée-URLGA, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 78352 Jouy en Josas,¹ and Centre de Bioingénierie Gilbert Durand, Institut National des Sciences Appliquées, Complexe Scientifique de Rangueil, F-31077 Toulouse Cedex 4,² France

Received 12 February 2001/Accepted 2 May 2001

Oxygen is a major determinant of both survival and mortality of aerobic organisms. For the facultative anaerobe Lactococcus lactis, oxygen has negative effects on both growth and survival. We show here that oxygen can be beneficial to L. lactis if heme is present during aerated growth. The growth period is extended and long-term survival is markedly improved compared to results obtained under the usual fermentation conditions. We considered that improved growth and survival could be due to the capacity of L. lactis to undergo respiration. To test this idea, we confirmed that the metabolic behavior of lactococci in the presence of oxygen and hemin is consistent with respiration and is most pronounced late in growth. We then used a genetic approach to show the following. (i) The cydA gene, encoding cytochrome d oxidase, is required for respiration and plays a direct role in oxygen utilization. cydA expression is induced late in growth under respiration conditions. (ii) The hemZ gene, encoding ferrochelatase, which converts protoporphyrin IX to heme, is needed for respiration if the precursor, rather than the final heme product, is present in the medium. Surprisingly, survival improved by respiration is observed in a superoxide dismutase-deficient strain, a result which emphasizes the physiological differences between fermenting and respiring lactococci. These studies confirm respiratory metabolism in L. lactis and suggest that this organism may be better adapted to respiration than to traditional fermentative metabolism.

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^* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Génétique Appliquée-URLGA, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Domaine de Vilvert, 78352 Jouy en Josas, France. Phone: 33-1 34 65 21 68. Fax: 33-1 34 65 20 65. E-mail: gruss{at}biotec.jouy.inra.fr.

This paper is dedicated to Patrick Duwat (died 5 January 2000), who was a driving force of this work.

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Journal of Bacteriology, August 2001, p. 4509-4516, Vol. 183, No. 15
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.15.4509-4516.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

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