The role of temperature and carbon dioxide climatic stress factors on the growth kinetics of Escherichia coli

Abstract

The global level of carbon dioxide and temperature in the atmosphere is expected to increase, which may affect the survival of the stress-adapted bacteria. In this study, the effect of temperature and dissolved carbon dioxide on the growth rate of Escherichia coli was studied, thus assessing its response to induced environmental stress factors. Methods and results A kinetic assay has been performed using a microplate reader with a spectrofluorometer to determine the specific growth rates. Polynomial models were developed to correlate the environmental conditions of temperature and carbon dioxide with E. coli BL21 (DE3) growth in culture media and dairy by-products. At a temperature of 42 °C, as the dissolved CO2 increased, a decrease of the μmax by 0.76 h−1 was observed. In contrast, at 27 °C, this increase led to a rise of the μmax by 0.99 h−1. Moreover, a correction factor was added when applying the model to dairy whey samples. Conclusions The application of this developed model can be considered a useful tool for predicting the growth of E. coli using climate projections.