Characterization of the volatile profile of Antarctic bacteria by using solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.
Bacteria belonging to the Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) are significant pathogens in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients and are resistant to a plethora of antibiotics. In this context, microorganisms from Antarctica are interesting because they produce antimicrobial compounds inhibiting the growth of other bacteria. This is particularly true for bacteria isolated from Antarctic sponges. The aim of this work was to characterize a set of Antarctic bacteria for their ability to produce new natural drugs that could be exploited in the control of infections in CF patients by Bcc bacteria. Hence, 11 bacterial strains allocated to different genera (e.g., Pseudoalteromonas, Arthrobacter and Psychrobacter) were tested for their ability to inhibit the growth of 21 Bcc strains and some other human pathogens. All these bacteria completely inhibited the growth of most, if not all, Bcc strains, suggesting a highly specific activity toward Bcc strains. Experimental evidences showed that the antimicrobial compounds are small volatile organic compounds, and are constitutively produced via an unknown pathway. The microbial volatile profile was obtained by SPME-GC-MS within the m/z interval of 40-450. Solid phase micro extraction technique affords the possibility to extract the volatile compounds in head space with a minimal sample perturbation. Principal component analysis and successive cluster discriminant analysis was applied to evaluate the relationships among the volatile organic compounds with the aim of classifying the microorganisms by their volatile profile. These data highlight the potentiality of Antarctic bacteria as novel sources of antibacterial substances to face Bcc infections in CF patients.
Dipartimento di Produzioni Vegetali, del Suolo e dell'Ambiente Agroforestale (DIPSA), Firenze, Italy. riccardo.romoli@unifi.it
Riccardo
R
Romoli
Maria Cristiana
MC
Papaleo
Donatella
D
de Pascale
Maria Luisa
ML
Tutino
Luigi
L
Michaud
Angelina
A
LoGiudice
Renato
R
Fani
Gianluca
G
Bartolucci
D000818:Animals; D000864:Antarctic Regions; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001173:Arthrobacter / Q000737:chemistry*; D042602:Burkholderia cepacia complex / Q000187:drug effects*; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D011161:Porifera / Q000382:microbiology; D031161:Pseudoalteromonas / Q000737:chemistry*; D044096:Psychrobacter / Q000737:chemistry*; D052617:Solid Phase Microextraction; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds