Pulsed high electric field causes 'all or nothing' membrane damage in Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella typhimurium, but membrane H+-ATPase is not a primary target.

Salmonella typhimurium (CRA 1005) was more sensitive than Listeria monocytogenes (NCTC 11994) to pulsed high electric field (PHEF) treatment in distilled water (10, 15 and 20 kV/cm), 10 mM Tris-maleate buffer, pH 7.4 (15 kV/cm) and model beef broth (0.75%, w/v; 15 kV/cm). Sublethal injury could not be detected using a selective medium plating technique, indicating that bacterial inactivation by PHEF may be an 'all or nothing' event. PHEF-induced membrane permeabilisation resulted in an increase in the leakage of UV-absorbing material from the bacteria (UV-leakage) and a decreased ability of L. monocytogenes to maintain a pH gradient. A lack of correlation between the inhibition of H+-ATPase activity and PHEF treatment, cell viability or UV-leakage indicates that this enzyme is probably not a primary site of bacterial inactivation despite its role in the maintenance of internal pH.