COLD STRESS PROTEINS INDUCED IN LISTERIA-MONOCYTOGENES IN RESPONSE TOTEMPERATURE DOWNSHOCK AND GROWTH AT LOW-TEMPERATURES

Listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne pathogen with the ability to gr ow at refrigerator temperatures. Twelve cold shock proteins (Csps) wit h apparent M(r)s of 48,600, 41,000, 21,800, 21,100, 19,700, 19,200, 18 ,800, 18,800, 17,200, 15,500, 14,500, and 14,000 were induced by cold shocking L. monocytogenes 10403S from 37 to 5 degrees C, as revealed b y labeling with L-[S-35]methionine followed by two-dimensional gel ele ctrophoresis. Strain SLCC53 showed a similar response. Cold acclimatio n proteins were observed in cultures Of strain 10403S growing at 5 deg rees C, and four of these proteins, with apparent M(r)s 48,000, 21,100 , 19,700, and 18,800, were also Csps:Two cold-sensitive transposon-ind uced mutants were labeled less efficiently than the parent strain, but the Csp response of the mutant examined was very similar to that of t he parent strain.