Synthesis of the reported structure of homocereulide and its vacuolation assay

Bacillus cereus Toxin Repertoire: Diversity of (Iso)cereulide(s)

The emetic Bacillus cereus toxin cereulide (1) poses a significant safety risk in the food industry, causing emesis and nausea after consumption of contaminated foods. Analogously to cereulide, the structures of various isocereulides, namely, isocereulides A–G, have been recently reported and could also be identified in B. cereus-contaminated food samples. The HPLC fractionation of B. cereus extracts allows us to isolate additional isocereulides. By applying MSⁿ sequencing, post-hydrolytic dipeptide, amino acid and α-hydroxy acid analyses using UPLC-ESI-TOF-MS to purify the analytes, seven new isocereulides H–N (2–8) could be elucidated in their chemical structures. The structure elucidation was supported by one-dimensional and two-dimensional NMR spectra of the isocereulides H (2), K (5), L and N (6 + 8) and M (7). The toxicity of 2–8 was investigated in a HEp-2 cell assay to determine their respective 50% effective concentration (EC₅₀). Thus, 2–8 exhibited EC₅₀ values ranging from a 0.4- to 1.4-fold value compared to cereulide (1). Missing structure-activity correlations indicate the necessity to determine the toxic potential of all naturally present isocereulides as single compounds to be able to perform a thorough toxicity evaluation of B. cereus-contaminated foods in the future.

Structure Revision of Isocereulide A, an Isoform of the Food Poisoning Emetic Bacillus cereus Toxin Cereulide

The emetic Bacillus cereus toxin cereulide presents an enormous safety hazard in the food industry, inducing emesis and nausea after the consumption of contaminated foods. Additional to cereulide itself, seven structurally related isoforms, namely the isocereulides A–G, have already been elucidated in their chemical structure and could further be identified in B. cereus contaminated food samples. The newly performed isolation of isocereulide A allowed, for the first time, 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopy of a biosynthetically produced isocereulide, revealing results that contradict previous assumptions of an l-O-Leu moiety within its chemical structure. By furthermore applying posthydrolytical dipeptide analysis, amino acid and α-hydroxy acid analysis by means of UPLC-ESI-TOF-MS, as well as MSⁿ sequencing, the structure of previously reported isocereulide A could be corrected. Instead of the l-O-Leu as assumed to date, one l-O-Ile unit could be verified in the cyclic dodecadepsipeptide, revising the structure of isocereulide A to [(d-O-Leu-d-Ala-l-O-Val-l-Val)₂(d-O-Leu-d-Ala-l-O-Ile-l-Val)].

Marine natural products

This review covers the literature published in 2019 for marine natural products (MNPs), with 719 citations (701 for the period January to December 2019) referring to compounds isolated from marine microorganisms and phytoplankton, green, brown and red algae, sponges, cnidarians, bryozoans, molluscs, tunicates, echinoderms, mangroves and other intertidal plants and microorganisms. The emphasis is on new compounds (1490 in 440 papers for 2019), together with the relevant biological activities, source organisms and country of origin. Pertinent reviews, biosynthetic studies, first syntheses, and syntheses that led to the revision of structures or stereochemistries, have been included. Methods used to study marine fungi and their chemical diversity have also been discussed.

Evaluation of MALDI-ToF Mass Spectrometry for Rapid Detection of Cereulide From Bacillus cereus Cultures

Bacillus cereus plays an often unrecognized role in food borne diseases. Food poisoning caused by this pathogen is manifested by either diarrhea or emesis. Due to the relatively high prevalence of emetic toxin cereulide associated food poisoning, methods for simple and reliable detection of cereulide producing strains are of utmost importance. Recently, two different studies reported on the application of MALDI-ToF MS for either the differentiation of emetic and non-emetic strains of B. cereus or for direct detection of cereulide from bacterial colony smears. However, for implementation of cereulide detection using MALDI-ToF MS in routine microbiological diagnostics additional investigations on the sensitivity and specificity as well as on the fitting into common workflows for bacterial identification are needed. These aspects prompted us to investigate open issues and to test sample preparation methods, commonly used for microbial identification for their suitability to detect the emetic toxin from bacteria. Based on our experimental findings we propose a workflow that allows identification of B. cereus and sensitive detection of cereulide in parallel, using linear-mode MALDI-ToF MS equipment. The protocol was validated in a blinded study and is based on the well-established ethanol/formic acid extraction method. Cereulide is detected in the ethanol wash solution of samples identified as B. cereus as peaks at m/z 1175 and 1191. Peak position difference of 16 Th (Thomson) indicates detection of the sodium and potassium adducts of cereulide. This sample treatment offers possibilities for further characterization by more sophisticated LC-MS-based methods. In summary, the ease of use and the achieved level of analytical sensitivity as well as the wide-spread availability of MALDI-ToF MS equipment in clinical microbiological laboratories provides a promising tool to improve and to facilitate routine diagnostics of B. cereus associated food intoxications.

Rapid detection of Bacillus ionophore cereulide in food products

Cereulide is a toxic cyclic depsipeptide produced by certain strains of Bacillus cereus found in soil and food products. While some harmless strains of Bacillus are used as probiotic, others can cause nausea and vomiting, and represent an important food safety concern. Current detection methods are time consuming and do not necessarily detect toxic cereulide. Here, we developed a rapid protocol using Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time of Flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry that detects the toxin originating from a colony smear of B. cereus. The distinct molecular feature of the toxin peak at m/z 1,191 was clearly identified from bacterial extracts with a limit of detection (LOD) of 30 ng/mL. Final optimisation of the sample preparation was based on cereulide chelating cations to produce the alkali adduct [M + K]+ without the use of a MALDI matrix, and provided a 1,000-fold improvement of LOD with 30 pg/mL of cereulide. We evaluated the application of this method for the detection of cereulide in rice, milk, and different ready-to-eat meals. The proposed protocol is quick, easy and provides an improvement over conventional methods for the detection of B. cereus toxin.