Acid stress induces differential accumulation of metabolites in Escherichia coli O26:H11

AIMS Acid exposure induces accumulation of certain metabolites in bacteria. The experimental objective was to identify the primary metabolites accumulating in Escherichia coli O26:H11 as a function of acid (pH 3·6) exposure. METHODS AND RESULTS Different buffers of pH 7·5 and 3·6 were used to study the metabolites accumulating in E. coli O26:H11 cells during such pH exposure. After 24 h of acid exposure, there was a 7-log decline in E. coli populations on trypticase soy agar plates. Untargeted metabolomic analysis identified 293 primary metabolites of which 145 metabolites were differentially (P