Relationship between Desiccation Tolerance and Biofilm Formation in Shiga Toxin-Producing <i>Escherichia coli</i>
Shiga toxin-producing <i>Escherichia coli</i> (STEC) is a major concern in the food industry and requires effective control measures to prevent foodborne illnesses. Previous studies have demonstrated increased difficulty in the control of biofilm-forming STEC. Desiccation, achieved throu...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/12/2/243 |
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| author | Muhammad Qasim Javed Igor Kovalchuk Dmytro Yevtushenko Xianqin Yang Kim Stanford |
| author_facet | Muhammad Qasim Javed Igor Kovalchuk Dmytro Yevtushenko Xianqin Yang Kim Stanford |
| author_sort | Muhammad Qasim Javed |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Shiga toxin-producing <i>Escherichia coli</i> (STEC) is a major concern in the food industry and requires effective control measures to prevent foodborne illnesses. Previous studies have demonstrated increased difficulty in the control of biofilm-forming STEC. Desiccation, achieved through osmotic stress and water removal, has emerged as a potential antimicrobial hurdle. This study focused on 254 genetically diverse <i>E. coli</i> strains collected from cattle, carcass hides, hide-off carcasses, and processing equipment. Of these, 141 (55.51%) were STEC and 113 (44.48%) were generic <i>E. coli</i>. The biofilm-forming capabilities of these isolates were assessed, and their desiccation tolerance was investigated to understand the relationships between growth temperature, relative humidity (RH), and bacterial survival. Only 28% of the STEC isolates had the ability to form biofilms, compared to 60% of the generic <i>E. coli</i>. Stainless steel surfaces were exposed to different combinations of temperature (0 °C or 35 °C) and relative humidity (75% or 100%), and the bacterial attachment and survival rates were measured over 72 h and compared to controls. The results revealed that all the strains exposed to 75% relative humidity (RH) at any temperature had reduced growth (<i>p</i> < 0.001). In contrast, 35 °C and 100% RH supported bacterial proliferation, except for isolates forming the strongest biofilms. The ability of <i>E. coli</i> to form a biofilm did not impact growth reduction at 75% RH. Therefore, desiccation treatment at 75% RH at temperatures of 0 °C or 35 °C holds promise as a novel antimicrobial hurdle for the removal of biofilm-forming <i>E. coli</i> from challenging-to-clean surfaces and equipment within food processing facilities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:20:30Z |
| format | Article |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:20:30Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
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| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj.art-107949fce9c94fc9954df0bd0297c1b52024-02-23T15:27:58ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072024-01-0112224310.3390/microorganisms12020243Relationship between Desiccation Tolerance and Biofilm Formation in Shiga Toxin-Producing <i>Escherichia coli</i>Muhammad Qasim Javed0Igor Kovalchuk1Dmytro Yevtushenko2Xianqin Yang3Kim Stanford4Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, CanadaDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, CanadaDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, CanadaAgriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lacombe, AB T4L 1V7, CanadaDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, CanadaShiga toxin-producing <i>Escherichia coli</i> (STEC) is a major concern in the food industry and requires effective control measures to prevent foodborne illnesses. Previous studies have demonstrated increased difficulty in the control of biofilm-forming STEC. Desiccation, achieved through osmotic stress and water removal, has emerged as a potential antimicrobial hurdle. This study focused on 254 genetically diverse <i>E. coli</i> strains collected from cattle, carcass hides, hide-off carcasses, and processing equipment. Of these, 141 (55.51%) were STEC and 113 (44.48%) were generic <i>E. coli</i>. The biofilm-forming capabilities of these isolates were assessed, and their desiccation tolerance was investigated to understand the relationships between growth temperature, relative humidity (RH), and bacterial survival. Only 28% of the STEC isolates had the ability to form biofilms, compared to 60% of the generic <i>E. coli</i>. Stainless steel surfaces were exposed to different combinations of temperature (0 °C or 35 °C) and relative humidity (75% or 100%), and the bacterial attachment and survival rates were measured over 72 h and compared to controls. The results revealed that all the strains exposed to 75% relative humidity (RH) at any temperature had reduced growth (<i>p</i> < 0.001). In contrast, 35 °C and 100% RH supported bacterial proliferation, except for isolates forming the strongest biofilms. The ability of <i>E. coli</i> to form a biofilm did not impact growth reduction at 75% RH. Therefore, desiccation treatment at 75% RH at temperatures of 0 °C or 35 °C holds promise as a novel antimicrobial hurdle for the removal of biofilm-forming <i>E. coli</i> from challenging-to-clean surfaces and equipment within food processing facilities.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/12/2/243<i>Escherichia coli</i>STECbiofilmdesiccationrelative humiditybacterial survival |
| spellingShingle | Muhammad Qasim Javed Igor Kovalchuk Dmytro Yevtushenko Xianqin Yang Kim Stanford Relationship between Desiccation Tolerance and Biofilm Formation in Shiga Toxin-Producing <i>Escherichia coli</i> Microorganisms <i>Escherichia coli</i> STEC biofilm desiccation relative humidity bacterial survival |
| title | Relationship between Desiccation Tolerance and Biofilm Formation in Shiga Toxin-Producing <i>Escherichia coli</i> |
| title_full | Relationship between Desiccation Tolerance and Biofilm Formation in Shiga Toxin-Producing <i>Escherichia coli</i> |
| title_fullStr | Relationship between Desiccation Tolerance and Biofilm Formation in Shiga Toxin-Producing <i>Escherichia coli</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Relationship between Desiccation Tolerance and Biofilm Formation in Shiga Toxin-Producing <i>Escherichia coli</i> |
| title_short | Relationship between Desiccation Tolerance and Biofilm Formation in Shiga Toxin-Producing <i>Escherichia coli</i> |
| title_sort | relationship between desiccation tolerance and biofilm formation in shiga toxin producing i escherichia coli i |
| topic | <i>Escherichia coli</i> STEC biofilm desiccation relative humidity bacterial survival |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/12/2/243 |
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