Whole‐Cell MALDI‐ToF MS Coupled with Untargeted Metabolomics Facilitates Investigations of Microbial Chemical Interactions. (10th March 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Aiosa, Nicole; Sinha, Anupama; Albataineh, Hanan; Phillips, Ashlee M.; Mageeney, Catherine M.; Wilde, Delaney S.; Williams, Kelly P.; Collette, Nicole M.; Branda, Steven S.; Garg, Neha
• Is Part Of: Chembiochem. Volume 24:Number 7(2023)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2023-03-10
• Subjects: Bacillus sp. -- Burkholderia thailandensis -- mass spectrometry -- metabolomics -- molecular networking -- natural products -- whole-cell MALDI-ToF -- mass spectrometry imaging; Biochemistry -- Periodicals; Molecular biology -- Periodicals; Pharmaceutical chemistry -- Periodicals; 572
• DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202200802
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1439-4227

Abstract

Abstract: The emergence of drug‐resistant pathogens necessitates the development of new countermeasures. In this regard, the introduction of probiotics to directly attack or competitively exclude pathogens presents a useful strategy. Application of this approach requires an understanding of how a probiotic and its target pathogen interact. A key means of probiotic‐pathogen interaction involves the production of small molecules called natural products (NPs). Here, we report the use of whole‐cell matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight (MALDI‐ToF) mass spectrometry to characterize NP production by candidate probiotics (mouse airway microbiome isolates) when co‐cultured with the respiratory pathogen Burkholderia . We found that a Bacillus velezensis strain inhibits growth of and elicits NP production by Burkholderia thailandensis . Dereplication of known NPs detected in the metabolome of this B. velezensis strain suggests that a previously unannotated bioactive compound is involved. Thus, we present the use of whole‐cell MALDI as a broadly applicable method for screening the NP composition of microbial co‐cultures; this can be combined with other ‐omics methods to characterize probiotic‐pathogen and other microbe‐microbe interactions. Abstract : Screening microbial chemical interactions : A high‐throughput whole‐cell MALDI method has been developed for screening chemical interactions between commensal and pathogenic bacteria. This enabled identification of natural product compounds produced by candidate airway probiotics ( Bacillus ‐related strains isolated from the mouse respiratory tract) and a model respiratory pathogen ( Burkholderia thailandensis ) when cultured together in vitro .