Functional Screening of the Cronobacter sakazakii BAA-894 Genome reveals a role for ProP (ESA_02131) in carnitine uptake.

Cronobacter sakazakii is a neonatal pathogen responsible for up to 80% of fatalities in infected infants. Low birth weight infants and neonates infected with C. sakazakii suffer necrotizing enterocolitis, bacteraemia and meningitis. The mode of transmission most often associated with infection is powdered infant formula (PIF) which, with an aw of ∼0.2, is too low to allow most microorganisms to persist. Survival of C. sakazakii in environments subject to extreme hyperosmotic stress has previously been attributed to the uptake of compatible solutes including proline and betaine. Herein, we report the construction and screening of a C. sakazakii genome bank and the identification of ProP (ESA_02131) as a carnitine uptake system.