Bacteria stress adaptation: Implication and control

Bacteria have an incredible ability to adapt to diverse environments, most of which are hostile. It is an important feature that enable them to survive and grow. Along the food value chain, right from the farm to plate, bacteria must overcome sublethal and lethal ranges of temperature, moisture, pH, solutes, desiccation and several oxidizing agents applied to food to preserve, prepare, store and improve safety of food. Recently, bacterial antimicrobial resistance has increased public health risk to zoonotic bacterial agents with increasing resistance to second- and third-line antibiotics used to treat infections from resistant bacterial agents. Antimicrobial resistance is another adaptation system that is occurring faster than anticipated and new technologies are exploring means of inhibiting bacteria without enabling opportunities for resistance or adaptation. This chapter discusses updates on molecular mechanisms by which bacteria respond and overcome stresses encountered in food environments. Sigma factors are particularly important in driving targeted response to stressful stimuli and are also important in providing cross protection to multiple and sometimes unrelated stresses that bacteria face. The chapter also discuss novel technologies to control bacteria in food environments.