NMR-Based Microbial Metabolomics and the Temperature-Dependent Coral Pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus

Published

September 18, 2009

Author(s)

Daniel W. Bearden, Arezue Boroujerdi, Tracey B. Schock, Alexander Meyers, Elizabeth C. Pollock, Sara Lien Huynh, Maria Vizcaino, Pamela J. Morris

Abstract

Coral bleaching occurs when the symbioses between coral animals and their zooxanthellae is disrupted, either as part of a natural cycle or as the result of unusual events. The bacterium Vibrio coralliilyticus has been linked to coral disease globally (for example in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Red Sea and Indian Ocean), and, like many other Vibrio species, exhibits a temperature- dependent pathogenicity. The temperature-dependence of V. coralliilyticus in regard to its metabolome was investigated. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra were obtained of methanol-water extracts of intracellular metabolites (the endo-metabolome) from multiple samples of the bacteria cultured into late stationary phase at both 27 °C (when this organism exhibits virulence) and 24 °C (an avirulent form). The spectra were subjected to principal components analysis (PCA), and significant temperature- based separations in PC1, PC2, and PC3 dimensions were observed. Betaine, succinate, and glutamate were identified as metabolites that cause the greatest temperature-based separations in the PC scores plots. With increasing temperature, betaine was shown to be down regulated while succinate and glutamate were up regulated.

Citation

Environmental Science & Technology

Volume

43

Issue

20

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

NMR, metabolomics, metabonomics, coral, vibrio

Citation

Bearden, D. , Boroujerdi, A. , Schock, T. , Meyers, A. , Pollock, E. , , S. , Vizcaino, M. and Morris, P. (2009), NMR-Based Microbial Metabolomics and the Temperature-Dependent Coral Pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus, Environmental Science & Technology, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=902568 (Accessed December 1, 2024)