Effect of antecedent growth conditions on sensitivity of Escherichia coli to chlorine dioxide.

Bacterial resistance to inactivation by antibacterial agents that is induced by the growth environment was studied. Escherichia coli was grown in batch culture and in a chemostat, and the following parameters were varied: type of substrate, growth rate, temperature, and cell density during growth. Low doses (0.75 mg/liter) of chlorine dioxide were used to inactivate the cultures. The results demonstrated that populations grown under conditions that more closely approximated natural aquatic environments were more resistant than those grown under commonly employed batch culture conditions. In particular, bacteria grown at submaximal rates were more resistant than their counterparts grown at mumax. The most resistant populations encountered in this study were those grown at D values of 0.02 h-1 and 0.06 h-1 at 25 degrees C. Growth at 15 degrees C led to greater resistance than did growth at 37 degrees C. The conditions that produced relatively resistant phenotypes were much closer to those found in most natural environments than are the typical conditions of batch culture methods. The importance of major physiological changes that can be induced by the antecedent growth environment is discussed in light of the possible modes of action of several disinfectants.