Stress response of Escherichia coli to essential oil components – insights on low-molecular-weight proteins from MALDI-TOF

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 13042 - 9
• Main Authors: Božik, Matěj, Cejnar, Pavel, Šašková, Martina, Nový, Pavel, Maršík, Petr, Klouček, Pavel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 29.08.2018; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/326/22; 631/326/421; 631/326/88; Antibiotics; Biofilms; Cellular stress response; Chlorine; E coli; Essential oils; Gel electrophoresis; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Oils & fats; Peroxide; Proteins; Ribosomal proteins; Science; Science (multidisciplinary)
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-31255-2

The antibacterial effects of essential oils and their components (EOCs) are usually attributed to effects on membranes and metabolism. Studies of the effects of EOCs on protein expression have primarily analysed proteins larger than 10 kDa using gel electrophoresis. In the present study, we used MALDI-TOF-MS to investigate the effects of EOCs on low-molecular-weight proteins. From 297 m/z features, we identified 94 proteins with important differences in expression among untreated samples, samples treated with EOCs, and samples treated with antibiotics, peroxide, or chlorine. The targets of these treatments obviously differ, even among EOCs. In addition to ribosomal proteins, stress-, membrane- and biofilm-related proteins were affected. These findings may provide a basis for identifying new targets of essential oils and synergies with other antibiotics.