Survival and fatty acid composition of UV-C treated Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract

Ultraviolet irradiation (UV-C) is proven to be effective to inactivate microorganisms. The present study investigates the effect of sublethal UV-C rays on the membrane fatty acid profile of four Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from air, patient, food and animal. Our results show that S. aureus isolated from patients and air are the most sensitive to UV-C rays and that their inactivation achieves a greater than 2-log reduction after a UV-C exposure of 210 mJ cm−2. However, the strain isolated from food is the most resistant one. The fatty acid analysis indicates that this strain (food) reveals a decrease of branched chain fatty acids (BCFA iso and anteiso) and an increase of straight chain saturated fatty acids (SCFA).