Altered cell surface hydrophobicity of Lactobacillus paracasei KLB58 isolated from human vagina

In previous study, we have isolated Lactobacillus spp. from healthy human vagina and examined various characteristics such as antimicrobial substance production and exopolysaccharide (EPS) production. It is known that an EPS is an important factor of Lactobacillus spp. to adhere to epithelial cell. We have selected L. paracasei KLB58 having high antimicrobial activity and EPS production. In this study, we performed NTG (1-Methyl-3-nitro-1-nitrosoguanidine) mutagenesis to isolate an EPS deficienct mutant of KLB58 showing high cell surface hydrophobicity (CSll) compared to wild type strain. By monitoring the kinetics of the partition with hexadecane the EPS mutant was found to be far more hydrophobic than the wild type strain ; the CSH of the EPS mutant was 0.5-fold higher than the wild type strain.

본 실험을 수행하기 위해 EPS를 생산하지 않는 Lactobacillus paracasei KLB58의 돌연변이주를 NTG mutagenesis 방법을 사용하여 선별하였다. 선별된 돌연변이주의 숙주에 대한 부착능을 연구하기 위해 세포 표면의 소수성의 변화에 관하여 연구가 진행되었다. 정량적인 측정을 위해 hydrocarbon의 한 종류인 hexadecane을 소수성층으로 사용하여 세포와 함께 섞이는 kinetics를 측정하였다. 실험결과 KLB58의 돌연변이주는 야생형에 비해 세포표면이 상대적으로 높은 소수성을 나타내었다.