A tryptophan synchronous and normal fluorescence study on bacteria inactivation mechanism

Abstract

The inactivation of bacteria by UV light involves sequential dynamic processes that occur from femtoseconds to minutes and span from simple molecules to proteins and organisms. Detailed understanding of the inactivation mechanism is important and the key to efficient inactivation of harmful pathogens whose antibiotic resistance is critically increasing. In this study, we show that, for Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis bacteria, their tryptophan fluorescence intensity increased within the first minute of UV irradiation and subsequently decreased continuously. These data suggest that, shortly after exposure to UV light, tryptophan may be released from the bacterial membrane and protein unfolding which contributes to the increased tryptophan fluorescence intensity. This study provides a further means for monitoring the rate of bacteria inactivation.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Sep 03, 2019
Source ID
10.1073/pnas.1909722116

Entities

People

  • Dinesh Dhankhar
  • Jie Chen
  • Peter M. Rentzepis
  • Runze Li
  • Thomas C. Cesario

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • Robert A. Welch Foundation
  • Shanghai Jiao Tong University
  • University of California

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology
  • Computer science
  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Microbial Pathology
  • Molecular and Cellular Biology
  • Systems Analysis and Design