等离子体活化水处理对金黄色葡萄球菌基因表达的影响

Effect of Plasma Activated Water Treatment on Gene Expression of Staphylococcus Aureus

关键词:  等离子体活化水  金黄色葡萄球菌  基因表达分析  灭菌机制

Key words:  Plasma-activated water  Staphylococcus aureus  Transcriptome analysis  Sterilization mechanism

摘要:

金黄色葡萄球菌(Staphylococcus aureus)是一种常见的致病菌,能够引起多种感染,且其耐药性问题日益严重。为了探讨等离子体活化水对金黄色葡萄球菌的灭活及其作用机制,本研究采用转录组学技术,分析了等离子体活化水处理后的金黄色葡萄球菌基因表达变化。结果表明,等离子体活化水能够显著灭活金黄色葡萄球菌,处理5分钟后细菌存活数量降至检出限以下。通过组学分析显示,577个基因发生差异表达,其中317个基因上调,260个基因下调。通过COG、GO和KEGG功能注释及富集分析,差异表达基因主要涉及翻译、氨基酸代谢、碳水化合物代谢和跨膜运输等生物过程。特别是与肠毒素相关的基因显著下调,表明等离子体活化水可能通过抑制细菌的毒力因子表达来减弱其致病性。同时,与蛋白质合成和核酸代谢相关的基因显著下调,表明等离子体活化水可能通过破坏细菌的蛋白质和核酸代谢途径,进一步抑制其生长和繁殖。此外,多个与氧化还原反应相关的基因显著上调,提示细菌通过激活氧化还原酶系统来应对等离子体产生的活性氧物种(ROS)和氧化应激。本研究为等离子体活化水的杀菌机制提供了新的见解,并为其在医疗和环境消毒等领域的应用奠定了理论基础。

Abstract:

Staphylococcus aureus is a common pathogenic bacterium that can cause various infections, and its antibiotic resistance is becoming increasingly severe. This study investigated the inactivation effect of plasma-activated water on S. aureus and its underlying mechanisms. Transcriptomic analysis was performed to examine the gene expression changes in S. aureus after treatment with plasma-activated water. The results showed that plasma-activated water significantly inactivated S. aureus, reducing the bacterial survival count below the detection limit after 5 minutes of treatment. Transcriptomic analysis revealed 577 differentially expressed genes, including 317 upregulated and 260 downregulated genes. Through COG, GO, and KEGG functional annotation and enrichment analysis, the differentially expressed genes were found to be primarily involved in biological processes such as translation, amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, and transmembrane transport. Notably, genes related to enterotoxins were significantly downregulated, suggesting that plasma-activated water may reduce the pathogenicity of S. aureus by suppressing the expression of virulence factors. Furthermore, genes associated with protein synthesis and nucleic acid metabolism were significantly downregulated, suggesting that plasma-activated water may disrupt bacterial protein and nucleic acid metabolism, further inhibiting bacterial growth and reproduction. Additionally, multiple genes related to redox reactions were significantly upregulated, indicating that bacteria attempt to counteract oxidative stress by activating the redox enzyme system in response to reactive oxygen species(ROS) generated by plasma-activated water. This study provides new insights into the bactericidal mechanisms of plasma-activated water and lays a theoretical foundation for its application in medical disinfection, and environmental sanitation.