Abstract
Despite great advancement in genetic typing, phenotyping is still an indispensable tool for categorization of bacteria. Certain amino acids may be essential for bacterial survival, growth, pathogenicity or toxin production, which prompts the idea that the intrinsic ability to utilize single amino acid under live-or-die situation could be a basis for differentiation of bacteria species. In this study, we determined the single amino acid consumption profiles of 7 bacterial species, and demonstrated that most bacteria have species-specific pattern of amino acid consumption. We also discovered that bacterial strains from different hosts, toxigenicity, and antibiotic-resistance presented distinct preference for certain amino acids. Taken altogether, the amino acid consumption profiles showed potential to be a novel tool complementary to study not only bacterial categorization but also biochemical characteristics of the bacteria such that its phenotyping can be used to uncover strategies for nutritional, pharmaceutical, taxonomic, and evolutionary aspects of bacterial researches.
Highlights
Despite great advancement in genetic typing, phenotyping is still an indispensable tool for categorization of bacteria
Glutamine (Gln), Gly, Pro, Ser, Ala, Arg, and Asn can be used as sole carbon and nitrogen sources by Salmonella enterica in germinating alfalfa e xudates[13], the utilization of these Amino acids (AAs) may be contributed to bacterial fitness during plant colonization
The aims of this study were to exam the hypothesis that the ability of different bacteria species to utilize single AA under minimal nutritional condition is distinct enough to comprise a new method for novel classification/typing of bacterial species, and for study of animal tropisms in the same bacterium, differentiation of toxigenicity in the same bacterium, and differentiation of the same bacterial species with or without antimicrobial resistance
Summary
Despite great advancement in genetic typing, phenotyping is still an indispensable tool for categorization of bacteria. Escherichia coli can use serine (Ser), aspartate (Asp), cysteine (Cys), glycine (Gly), glutamate (Glu), and alanine (Ala) as the sole carbon and nitrogen sources during aerobic growth, while they consume Ser, Asp, Cys, and asparagine (Asn) under anaerobic c onditions[8] All these utilizable AAs are chemoattractants for E. coli. Different bacterial species require different types of AAs for growth, development of resistance to a hostile environment, or toxin production, which means certain AAs are essential for some bacteria but may not be necessary for others. These facts pointed to a possibility to employ AA utilization as a phenotypic mechanism to distinguish bacterial species, especially further down to strains, types, toxigenicity, and other characteristic properties. This CunSPE detection method can be a practical tool in the measurement of AA utilization for bacterial differentiation
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