Long-Term Adaptation of Bacillus subtilis 168 to Extreme pH Affects Chemical and Physical Properties of the Cellular Membrane

Abstract

We characterized physical and chemical properties of cell-membrane fragments from Bacillus subtilis 168 (trpC2) grown at pH 5.0, 7.0 and 8.5. We demonstrate that the pH adaptation results in a modification of a fatty acid content of cellular membranes that significantly influences both the lipid-chain order and dynamics.

Keywords

• Adaptation
• Bacillus
• subtilis
• pH
• Cellular Membrane