title: Sponge-associated microbial Antarctic communities exhibiting antimicrobial activity against Burkholderia cepacia complex bacteria.
abstract: The aerobic heterotrophic bacterial communities isolated from three different Antarctic sponge species were analyzed for their ability to produce antimicrobial compounds active toward Cystic Fibrosis opportunistic pathogens belonging to the Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc). The phylogenetic analysis performed on the 16S rRNA genes affiliated the 140 bacterial strains analyzed to 15 genera. Just three of them (Psychrobacter, Pseudoalteromonas and Arthrobacter) were shared by the three sponges. The further Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA analysis allowed to demonstrate that microbial communities are highly sponge-specific and a very low degree of genus/species/strain sharing was detected. Data obtained revealed that most of these sponge-associated Antarctic bacteria and belonging to different genera were able to completely inhibit the growth of bacteria belonging to the Bcc. On the other hand, the same Antarctic strains did not have any effect on the growth of other pathogenic bacteria, strongly suggesting that the inhibition is specific for Bcc bacteria. Moreover, the antimicrobial compounds synthesized by the most active Antarctic bacteria are very likely Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), a finding that was confirmed by the SPME-GC-MS technique, which revealed the production of a large set of VOCs by a representative set of Antarctic bacteria. The synthesis of these VOCs appeared to be related neither to the presence of pks genes nor the presence of plasmid molecules. The whole body of data obtained in this work indicates that sponge-associated bacteria represent an untapped source for the identification of new antimicrobial compounds and are paving the way for the discovery of new drugs that can be efficiently and successfully used for the treatment of CF infections.
authors: Dept of Evolutionary Biology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy. cristiana.papaleo@unifi.it
authors: Maria Cristiana
authors: MC
authors: Papaleo
authors: Marco
authors: M
authors: Fondi
authors: Isabel
authors: I
authors: Maida
authors: Elena
authors: E
authors: Perrin
authors: Angelina
authors: A
authors: Lo Giudice
authors: Luigi
authors: L
authors: Michaud
authors: Santina
authors: S
authors: Mangano
authors: Gianluca
authors: G
authors: Bartolucci
authors: Riccardo
authors: R
authors: Romoli
authors: Renato
authors: R
authors: Fani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000864:Antarctic Regions; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001173:Arthrobacter / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019121:Burkholderia Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D042602:Burkholderia cepacia complex / Q000187:drug effects*; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000150:complications; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004355:Drug Stability; D006801:Humans; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011161:Porifera / Q000382:microbiology*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D031161:Pseudoalteromonas / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D044096:Psychrobacter / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds