Sodium lactate and sodium diacetate change Listeria proteins
What it found
In lab tests, sodium lactate and sodium diacetate changed the proteins made by Listeria monocytogenes, and the two salts together suppressed more proteins than either alone.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Protein spots
Two-dimensional electrophoresis gave 198 protein spots with sodium diacetate, 150 with sodium lactate, and 131 in the control.
Unmatched proteins
Sodium diacetate produced 124 unmatched proteins, compared with 53 for sodium lactate.
Increased expression
Sodium diacetate caused the greatest increase in protein expression, with 20 proteins rising, against 5 for sodium lactate.
Novel proteins
Sodium diacetate led to 90 novel proteins, while sodium lactate led to 45.
Repressed proteins
The combination of the two salts repressed the most proteins, 41, compared with -30 for the single salt treatments.
Specific proteins
Six proteins that changed by 10-fold or more were studied further. Oxidoreductase and lipoprotein went up, while a DNA-binding protein, alpha amylase, and two SecA proteins went down or were completely suppressed.
What the authors conclude
“Identification of all protein spots is essential for comparison with proteins induced or suppressed under other stress conditions.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say that identifying all the protein spots is essential for comparing them with proteins caused or suppressed by other stress conditions.
How it was done
Most work on how Listeria survives harsh conditions has looked at acid or salt stress, but little was known about how it responds to salts of organic acids.
The researchers grew Listeria monocytogenes in a chemically defined medium at pH 6.3 with sodium lactate, sodium diacetate, or both, and used a proteomic approach to compare the proteins produced.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These are lab tests in a defined medium, so they cannot show what happens in people or in actual food.
- The study does not show whether these protein changes affect how well the salts stop Listeria from growing.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by NIGMS NIH HHS (from the PubMed record).
- Authors work at
- Wayne State University, USA
The paper
- Title
- Protein variations in Listeria monocytogenes exposed to sodium lactate, sodium diacetate, and their combination
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Mbandi E, Phinney BS, Whitten D, Shelef LA (2007). Protein variations in Listeria monocytogenes exposed to sodium lactate, sodium diacetate, and their combination. Journal of food protection. doi:10.4315/0362-028x-70.1.58PubMed 17265861DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error