5 and 9.5 (see Additional file 1). As observed in the assays that utilised ΔmdtM cells transformed with pMdtM and pD22A, there was no difference in the growth characteristics of ΔmdfA transformants cultured at pH 8.5 (see Additional file 1; top left panel). However, as the pH of the growth medium was

made more selleck chemicals llc alkaline the ΔmdfA pD22A transformants again became increasingly inhibited until, at pH 9.5, their growth was essentially halted (see Additional file 1; bottom right panel). In contrast, ΔmdfA cells that overproduced plasmidic, wild-type MdtM grew at all the alkaline pH values tested, thus underlining the ability of overexpressed MdtM to compensate for loss of MdfA and thereby support an alkalitolerant phenotype of E. coli. Finally, to ensure that the observed differences in the cell growth assays were not buy SP600125 due simply to differences in the expression levels GW-572016 nmr of the wild-type and D22A mutant transporter, Western blot analysis of dodecyl-β-D-maltopyranoside (DDM) detergent-solubilized cytoplasmic membranes from each strain grown at different pH values was performed (Figure 2C). The analysis confirmed that the wild-type

and mutant transporter were not only correctly targeted to the inner membrane but also that each was overexpressed to similar levels irrespective of the pH of the growth medium. Collectively, these results demonstrate that MdtM can confer E. coli with tolerance to alkaline pH values up to 9.75, provided it is functionally expressed from a multicopy plasmid. Na+ or K+ cations are required for MdtM-mediated

selleck alkaline pH tolerance Inward active transport of protons by antiporters involved in alkaline pH homeostasis in bacteria is usually driven by outward co-transport of monovalent cations such as Na+ or K+[1]. Therefore, we characterised the requirement of Na+ or K+ for MdtM-mediated alkalitolerance by performing growth experiments with E. coli BW25113 ΔmdtM cells complemented with pMdtM in salt-free liquid medium supplemented with different concentrations (ranging from 20 mM to 86 mM) of NaCl or KCl at different pH values. Cells grown at neutral pH did not exhibit any Na+ or K+-dependence (Figure 3A and B, top panels). However, as pH of the medium increased, cell growth showed distinct NaCl or KCl concentration dependence, suggesting that the presence of Na+ or K+ ions is required for MdtM-mediated basic pH tolerance (Figure 3). Notably, at alkaline pH, cells grown in the presence of the higher concentrations of K+ (Figure 3B) achieved higher optical density than those grown in the presence of the corresponding concentrations of Na+ (Figure 3A). The stronger growth of cells observed in the presence of K+ in the external medium probably reflects the activity of the chromosomally encoded ChaA K+/H+ antiporter [12]. Figure 3 E. coli cells complemented with mdtM require sodium or potassium for growth at alkaline pH. Growth of E.