Responses of Issatchenkia terricola WJL-G4 upon Citric Acid Stress

This study aimed to elucidate the responses of a novel characterized Issatchenkia terricola WJL-G4 against citric acid stress by performing physiological analysis, morphology observation, and structural and membrane fatty acid composition analysis. The results showed that under citric acid stress, the cell vitality of I. terricola WJL-G4 was reduced. The cell morphology changed with the unclear, uncompleted and thinner cell wall, and degraded the cell structure. When the citric acid concentration was 20 g/L, I. terricola WJL-G4 could tolerate citric acid and maintain the cell structure by increasing the intracellular pH, superoxide dismutase activity, and contents of unsaturated fatty acids. As the citric acid concentration was ≥80 g/L, the stress has exceeded the cellular anti-stress ability, causing substantial cell damage. The cell membrane permeability, the content of membrane lipids, malondialdehyde and superoxide anion increased, but the intracellular pH and superoxide dismutase activities decreased, accompanying the increase of citric acid concentrations. The findings of this work provided a theoretical basis for the responsive mechanism of I. terricola WJL-G4 under high concentrations of citric acid, and can serve as a reference for biological acid reduction in fruit processing.