Algicidal process and mechanisms of Enterobacter hormaechei F2 revealed by an integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic approach

Abstract

Controlling eutrophication with algicidal bacteria is widely recognized as an effective solution. Here, an integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic approach was used to elucidate the algicidal process of Enterobacter hormaechei F2, which exhibits substantial algicidal activity. At the transcriptome level, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) identified 1104 differentially expressed genes in the algicidal process of the strain, thus indicating that amino acids, energy metabolism, and signaling-related genes were significantly activated during the algicidal process according to the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis. By analyzing the enriched amino acid and energy metabolism pathways using metabolomics, we identified 38 upregulated and 255 downregulated significantly changed metabolites in the algicidal process and an accumulation of B vitamins, peptides, and energy substances. The integrated analysis demonstrated that energy and amino acid metabolism, co-enzymes and vitamins, and bacterial chemotaxis are the most important pathways for the algicidal process of this strain, and metabolites from these pathways, such as thiomethyladenosine, isopentenyl diphosphate, hypoxanthine, xanthine, nicotinamide, and thiamine, all exhibited algicidal activity.