Microbial response to acid stress: mechanisms and applications

  • Ningzi Guan*
  • , Long Liu
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

524 Scopus citations

Abstract

Microorganisms encounter acid stress during multiple bioprocesses. Microbial species have therefore developed a variety of resistance mechanisms. The damage caused by acidic environments is mitigated through the maintenance of pH homeostasis, cell membrane integrity and fluidity, metabolic regulation, and macromolecule repair. The acid tolerance mechanisms can be used to protect probiotics against gastric acids during the process of food intake, and can enhance the biosynthesis of organic acids. The combination of systems and synthetic biology technologies offers new and wide prospects for the industrial applications of microbial acid tolerance mechanisms. In this review, we summarize acid stress response mechanisms of microbial cells, illustrate the application of microbial acid tolerance in industry, and prospect the introduction of systems and synthetic biology to further explore the acid tolerance mechanisms and construct a microbial cell factory for valuable chemicals.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)51-65
Number of pages15
JournalApplied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Volume104
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2020

Keywords

  • Acid stress
  • Organic acids
  • Probiotics
  • Resistance mechanism
  • Systems and synthetic biology

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