Impact of gaseous no 2 on P. fluorescens strain in the membrane adaptation and virulence

Segolene Depayras (1) , Tatiana Kondakova (1) , Nadine Merlet-Machour (2) , Hermann Heipieper (3) , Magalie Barreau (1) , Chloé Catovic (1) , Marc Feuilloley (1) , Nicole Orange (1) , Cécile Duclairoir Poc (1)

1 LMSM - Laboratoire de Microbiologie Signaux et Microenvironnement
2 COBRA - Chimie Organique et Bioorganique : Réactivité et Analyse
3 UFZ - Helmholtz Zentrum für Umweltforschung = Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research

Nowadays air pollution is increasing due to anthropogenic activity. Among all air pollutants, nitrogen oxides (NOx) such as NO are predominant. It is well known that those compounds exhibit direct toxic effects on human health. However, microorganisms are also exposed to them, but the effect of NOx on the virulence of air microbiota is still poorly understood. In this study, we evaluated the impact of NO on the adaptability and virulence of an airborne strain of P. fluorescens, MFA76a, by exposition of this strain to 45 ppm of NO2. The growth kinetics and cultivability were analysed. A decrease of cultivability coupled with an increase of the lag phase was observed suggesting a potential toxicity of NO2. Since NOx particularly target lipids, the membrane permeability was assessed thanks to Live Dead tests and confocal microscopy. A significant alteration of membrane permeability was observed. Furthermore, more abundant bacterial aggregates were detected compared to the control. Thus, a lipidomic study was performed using MALDI-TOF MS Imaging coupled to HPTLC. Interestingly, bacteria exposed to NO were lacking one putative glycerophospholipid molecule. In agreement with a previous study from Kondakova et al., these data demonstrate the adaptation potential of P. fluorescens MFAF76a to an air pollutant such as NO.

Mots clés: membrane; antibiotic resistance; toxicity; air pollution; adaptation; P fluorescens

Domaines: Bactériologie; Ingénierie de l'environnement; Génomique, Transcriptomique et Protéomique [q-bio.GN]; Biochimie [q-bio.BM]; Interactions cellulaires [q-bio.CB]; Santé; Interactions entre organismes; Pharmacie galénique; Matériaux; Polymères

Segolene Depayras, Tatiana Kondakova, Nadine Merlet-Machour, Hermann Heipieper, Magalie Barreau, et al.. Impact of gaseous no 2 on P. fluorescens strain in the membrane adaptation and virulence. International Journal of Environmental Impacts, 2018, 1 (2), pp.183-192. ⟨10.2495/EI-V1-N2-183-192⟩. ⟨hal-02358537⟩