Electrophoretic analysis of hydrolytic enzymes of Escherichia coli cells starved in seawater and drinking water: Comparison of gelatinolytic, caseinolytic, phosphohydrolytic and hyaluronolytic activities

Abstract Starvation of four Escherichia coli clinical strains in seawater and drinking water for nine days revealed that various changes of hydrolytic enzymes were induced. Several gelatinolytic and caseinolytic activities differing in mol mass were detected both in seawater and drinking water starved cells by substrate gel electrophoresis. The major activities of gelatinase migrated with mol masses of ∼170 kDa and ∼45kDa. On the contrary, hyaluronolytic acitivies were detected only in cells cultured in Mueller Hinton broth with average mol masses of 36 kDa and 45 kDa. Acid and alkaline phosphohydrolytic activities were detected by native electrophoresis. Both activities were decreased in number of bands in E. coli cells starved either in seawater or drinking water.