A heat shock pre-treatment of Clostridium perfringens provides protection against lethality from subsequent exposure to cold shock and vice versa. Heat shocked cells were more cold tolerant (one log reduction in 65 min) than control cells (one log reduction in 34 min). On the other hand, cold-shocked cells were more thermotolerant (D55= 17 min) than the control (D55= 6.5 min). The addition of chloramphenicol (an inhibitor of protein synthesis) in the experiments indicates that synthesis of new proteins was necessary for cross protection between both treatments.
Clostridium perfringens; heat shock; cold shock
