Growth conditions influence expression of cell surface hydrophobicity of staphylococci and other wound infection pathogens.

The initial adhesion of microbes to tissue and solid surfaces can be mediated by hydrophobic interaction. Expression of microbial cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) is influenced by growth conditions, and often best expressed after growth under nutrient-poor conditions, or "starvation". In the present study, the CSH of 133 strains of Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase-negative staphylococci, Enterococcus faecalis, group A streptococcus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Clostridium perfringens, Bacteroides fragilis, Peptococcus magnus, and of 8 Candida albicans strains was measured by the salt aggregation test after growth on hematin agar in a 5% CO2 atmosphere, or under anaerobiosis. Cells of all but 8 strains expressed pronounced or moderate CSH, i.e., they aggregated in 0.01-2 M ammonium sulfate. When the agar surface was covered by human serum (diluted 1:5) to mimic growth conditions in a wound, 94 strains expressed higher CSH, and 44 strains the same CSH as after growth without serum. The CSH of 12 strains of different species was measured after growth on blood, hematin and PDM agar, with or without serum, and in an aerobic or a 5% CO2 atmosphere. The highest CSH was expressed after growth in 5% CO2 with serum, and the lowest growth after on blood agar in aerobic atmosphere. Identical results were obtained with native and heat-inactivated (56 C, 20 min) serum. The reduced surface tension obtained in 5% CO2, as well as yet unidentified serum factors, promotes expression of CSH.