Acid pre-exposure enhances pH and acetic acid tolerance in eight Bacillus cereus group strains
Abstract
Adaptation traits could influence the survival and growth of foodborne pathogens, but there is little information on the vegetative cells of the Bacillus cereus group. This study evaluated the influence of physiological state and adaptation history on acid tolerance among 8 selected strains of the B. cereus group, focusing on both pH and acetic acid concentration growth limits. Growth limits were estimated following pre-adaptation to low-pH and/or acetic acid. Pre-adaptation at pH 5.50 in the presence of acetic acid (14 mM) increased tolerance to lower pH and higher acetic acid concentrations for all strains compared to the reference cultural condition (pH 6.8, no acetic acid). Marked inter-strain variability in acid tolerance was observed. Cell populations with low acid tolerance show large variability in growth probability, revealing pronounced within-population phenotypic heterogeneity.
Three distinct adaptive behaviors to acid stress were identified: (i) strains showing increased tolerance after a low-pH adaptation state, further enhanced after an acetic acid adaptation state; (ii) strains exhibiting improved tolerance only after an acetic acid adaptation state; and (iii) strains displaying similar tolerance levels regardless of adaptation state conditions. Acid tolerance among the B. cereus strains studied emerges as a dynamic, history-dependent trait shaped by both inter-strain differences and intrapopulation heterogeneity, underscoring the importance of considering biological variability and strain-specific responses in predictive microbiology risk assessment in acidified food or environment.
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BibTeX
@article{bellot2026acid,
title = {{Acid pre-exposure enhances pH and acetic acid tolerance in eight Bacillus cereus group strains}},
author = {Léa Bellot and Alexandra Rahmani and Marine Bail and Louis Coroller and Noémie Desriac},
journal = {Food Control},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1016/j.foodcont.2026.112412},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05762338v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Acid pre-exposure enhances pH and acetic acid tolerance in eight Bacillus cereus group strains
AU - Léa Bellot
AU - Alexandra Rahmani
AU - Marine Bail
AU - Louis Coroller
AU - Noémie Desriac
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/22
JO - Food Control
DO - 10.1016/j.foodcont.2026.112412
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05762338v1
AB - Adaptation traits could influence the survival and growth of foodborne pathogens, but there is little information on the vegetative cells of the Bacillus cereus group. This study evaluated the influence of physiological state and adaptation history on acid tolerance among 8 selected strains of the B. cereus group, focusing on both pH and acetic acid concentration growth limits. Growth limits were estimated following pre-adaptation to low-pH and/or acetic acid. Pre-adaptation at pH 5.50 in the presence of acetic acid (14 mM) increased tolerance to lower pH and higher acetic acid concentrations for all strains compared to the reference cultural condition (pH 6.8, no acetic acid). Marked inter-strain variability in acid tolerance was observed. Cell populations with low acid tolerance show large variability in growth probability, revealing pronounced within-population phenotypic heterogeneity. Three distinct adaptive behaviors to acid stress were identified: (i) strains showing increased tolerance after a low-pH adaptation state, further enhanced after an acetic acid adaptation state; (ii) strains exhibiting improved tolerance only after an acetic acid adaptation state; and (iii) strains displaying similar tolerance levels regardless of adaptation state conditions. Acid tolerance among the B. cereus strains studied emerges as a dynamic, history-dependent trait shaped by both inter-strain differences and intrapopulation heterogeneity, underscoring the importance of considering biological variability and strain-specific responses in predictive microbiology risk assessment in acidified food or environment.
SN - 0956-7135
ER -