Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23912117›Full record

ArticleApplied microbiology and biotechnology2013

The damaging effects of short chain fatty acids on Escherichia coli membranes.

Liam A Royce, Ping Liu, Matthew J Stebbins, Benjamin C Hanson, Laura R Jarboe

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Applied microbiology and biotechnology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 81 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
81citing papers in PubMed
6.1field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

81 citing papers in PubMed, 233 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Biosynthesis of lanosterol inSynthetic and systems biotechnology · 2025
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Directed evolution of hydrocarbon-producing enzymes.Biotechnology for biofuels and bioproducts · 2025
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

21 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Liam A RoyceDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Iowa State University, 3051 Sweeney Hall, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
Ping Liu
Matthew J Stebbins
Benjamin C Hanson
Laura R Jarboe
Iowa State University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Carboxylic acids are an attractive biorenewable chemical. However, like many other fermentatively produced compounds, they are inhibitory to the biocatalyst. An understanding of the mechanism of toxicity can aid in mitigating this problem. Here, we show that hexanoic and octanoic acids are completely inhibitory to Escherichia coli MG1655 in minimal medium at a concentration of 40 mM, while decanoic acid was inhibitory at 20 mM. This growth inhibition is pH-dependent and is accompanied by a significant change in the fluorescence polarization (fluidity) and integrity. This inhibition and sensitivity to membrane fluidization, but not to damage of membrane integrity, can be at least partially mitigated during short-term adaptation to octanoic acid. This short-term adaptation was accompanied by a change in membrane lipid composition and a decrease in cell surface hydrophobicity. Specifically, the saturated/unsaturated lipid ratio decreased and the average lipid length increased. A fatty acid-producing strain exhibited an increase in membrane leakage as the product titer increased, but no change in membrane fluidity. These results highlight the importance of the cell membrane as a target for future metabolic engineering efforts for enabling resistance and tolerance of desirable biorenewable compounds, such as carboxylic acids. Knowledge of these effects can help in the engineering of robust biocatalysts for biorenewable chemicals production.

Indexed as

Cell MembraneEscherichia coliFatty Acids, VolatileHydrogen-Ion ConcentrationHydrophobic and Hydrophilic InteractionsMembrane FluidityFatty Acids, Volatile

Identifiers

PMID23912117
PMCPMC3757260
OpenAlexW2010803653

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.