Stress Tolerance Mechanisms in Lactic Acid Bacteria
Summary
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) encounter a variety of environmental challenges during industrial processing and passage through the gastrointestinal tract. Principal stressors include low pH in the stomach, bile salts in the small intestine, oxidative agents, temperature fluctuations and osmotic imbalances. To withstand acid stress, LAB employ cytoplasmic pH homeostasis mechanisms such as proton extrusion via F₀F₁-ATPase, amino acid decarboxylation systems and modulation of membrane fatty acid composition to reduce proton permeability. Bile resistance is achieved through bile salt hydrolases, efflux transporters and alterations in cell envelope integrity. Oxidative stress tolerance relies on antioxidative enzymes (superoxide dismutases, thioredoxin reductases), DNA repair pathways and chaperone networks, while heat shock proteins and compatible solute accumulation underpin resilience to thermal and osmotic stresses. Global regulatory circuits—two-component systems, alternative sigma factors and alarmone signalling—coordinate these responses, enabling rapid adaptation. Understanding these mechanisms is essential for the development of robust probiotic formulations, optimisation of fermentation processes and the engineering of LAB as cell factories for bioactive compound production.
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Stress Tolerance Mechanisms in Lactic Acid Bacteria publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in stress tolerance mechanisms in lactic acid bacteria across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Acid tolerance response (ATR): A coordinated set of cellular mechanisms enabling survival at low pH, including proton pumps and decarboxylases.
Bile salt hydrolase (BSH): Enzymes that deconjugate bile acids, reducing their detergent activity and toxicity.
F₀F₁-ATPase: A membrane‐embedded proton‐translocating complex that expels excess H⁺ to maintain cytoplasmic pH.
Two-component regulatory system: A sensor kinase and response regulator pair that transduces environmental signals into gene expression changes.
Heat shock proteins (HSPs): Molecular chaperones that protect and refold damaged proteins under thermal and other stresses.
References
- Microbial response to acid stress: mechanisms and applications. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology (2019).
- Bile resistance mechanisms in Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Frontiers in Microbiology (2013).
- METABOLIC ENGINEERING OF LACTIC ACID BACTERIA FOR THE PRODUCTION OF INDUSTRIALLY IMPORTANT COMPOUNDS. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal (2012).
- Thioredoxin reductase is a key factor in the oxidative stress response of Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1. Microbial Cell Factories (2007).
- Metabolomics analysis of Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 14917 adhesion activity under initial acid and alkali stress. PLOS ONE (2018).
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