Effect of acetate on sorbitol fermentation by oral lactobacilli

A catalog of ethanol-producing microbes in humans

Aim: Endogenous ethanol production emerges as a mechanism of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, obesity, diabetes and auto-brewery syndrome. Methods: To identify ethanol-producing microbes in humans, we used the NCBI taxonomy browser and the PubMed database with an automatic query and manual verification. Results: 85 ethanol-producing microbes in human were identified. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida and Pichia were the most represented fungi. Enterobacteriaceae was the most represented bacterial family with mainly Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Species of the Lachnospiraceae and Clostridiaceae family, of the Lactobacillales order and of the Bifidobacterium genus were also identified. Conclusion: This catalog will help the study of ethanol-producing microbes in human in the pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention and management of human diseases associated with endogenous ethanol production.

AcrR and Rex Control Mannitol and Sorbitol Utilization through Their Cross-Regulation of Aldehyde-Alcohol Dehydrogenase (AdhE) in Lactobacillus plantarum

Lactobacillus plantarum is a versatile bacterium that occupies a wide range of environmental niches. In this study, we found that a bifunctional aldehyde-alcohol dehydrogenase-encoding gene, adhE, was responsible for L. plantarum being able to utilize mannitol and sorbitol through cross-regulation by two DNA-binding regulators. In L. plantarum NF92, adhE was greatly induced, and the growth of an adhE-disrupted (ΔadhE) strain was repressed when sorbitol or mannitol instead of glucose was used as a carbon source. The results of enzyme activity and metabolite assays demonstrated that AdhE could catalyze the synthesis of ethanol in L. plantarum NF92 when sorbitol or mannitol was used as the carbon source. AcrR and Rex were two transcriptional factors screened by an affinity isolation method and verified to regulate the expression of adhE DNase I footprinting assay results showed that they shared a binding site (GTTCATTAATGAAC) in the adhE promoter. Overexpression and knockout of AcrR showed that AcrR was a novel regulator to promote the transcription of adhE The activator AcrR and repressor Rex may cross-regulate adhE when L. plantarum NF92 utilizes sorbitol or mannitol. Thus, a model of the control of adhE by AcrR and Rex during L. plantarum NF92 utilization of mannitol or sorbitol was proposed.IMPORTANCE The function and regulation of AdhE in the important probiotic genus Lactobacillus are rarely reported. Here we demonstrated that AdhE is responsible for sorbitol and mannitol utilization and is cross-regulated by two transcriptional regulators in L. plantarum NF92, which had not been reported previously. This is important for L. plantarum to compete and survive in some harsh environments in which sorbitol or mannitol could be used as carbon source. A novel transcriptional regulator AcrR was identified to be important to promote the expression of adhE, which was unknown before. The cross-regulation of adhE by AcrR and Rex is important to balance the level of NADH in the cell during sorbitol or mannitol utilization.

Real-time monitoring of the metabolic activity of periodontopathic bacteria

Bacterial metabolic activity is associated with the onset and progression mechanisms of oral biofilm-mediated disease; however, at present no method to monitor bacterial metabolism exists, especially for periodontopathic bacteria. Therefore, we aimed to establish a novel method for monitoring the metabolic activity of periodontopathic bacteria, Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), Prevotella intermedia (Pi) and Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn), as well as Streptococcus mutans (Sm) for comparison. The method is based on the dye resazurin, which is converted to the fluorescent molecule resorufin by reducing molecules derived from bacterial metabolism. Additionally, the effects of antimicrobial substances on bacterial metabolic activity were evaluated using this method. When bacterial suspensions were incubated with tryptone, glutamate, aspartate or glucose in the presence of resazurin, the fluorescence intensity increased over time by these bacterial metabolic reactions, indicating that this method can be used to monitor the metabolic activity of periodontopathic bacteria. Chlorhexidine showed the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 15-49 μg/ml for tryptone metabolism by Pg, Pi, and Fn, and 7.1-18 μg/ml for glucose metabolism by Pi and Sm. The IC50s for cetylpyridinium chloride and sodium dodecyl sulfate were 0.8-2.1 and 28-44 μg/ml, respectively for all bacteria examined. Fluoride had no effect except the IC50 of 640 μg/ml for Sm, while minocycline hydrochloride had no effect on any of the bacteria. The present study established the method for real-time monitoring of the metabolic activity of periodontopathic bacteria, and the method might be useful for evaluating the effects of antimicrobial substances on the bacterial metabolic activity.

Emergent biosynthetic capacity in simple microbial communities

Microbes have an astonishing capacity to transform their environments. Yet, the metabolic capacity of a single species is limited and the vast majority of microorganisms form complex communities and join forces to exhibit capabilities far exceeding those achieved by any single species. Such enhanced metabolic capacities represent a promising route to many medical, environmental, and industrial applications and call for the development of a predictive, systems-level understanding of synergistic microbial capacity. Here we present a comprehensive computational framework, integrating high-quality metabolic models of multiple species, temporal dynamics, and flux variability analysis, to study the metabolic capacity and dynamics of simple two-species microbial ecosystems. We specifically focus on detecting emergent biosynthetic capacity--instances in which a community growing on some medium produces and secretes metabolites that are not secreted by any member species when growing in isolation on that same medium. Using this framework to model a large collection of two-species communities on multiple media, we demonstrate that emergent biosynthetic capacity is highly prevalent. We identify commonly observed emergent metabolites and metabolic reprogramming patterns, characterizing typical mechanisms of emergent capacity. We further find that emergent secretion tends to occur in two waves, the first as soon as the two organisms are introduced, and the second when the medium is depleted and nutrients become limited. Finally, aiming to identify global community determinants of emergent capacity, we find a marked association between the level of emergent biosynthetic capacity and the functional/phylogenetic distance between community members. Specifically, we demonstrate a "Goldilocks" principle, where high levels of emergent capacity are observed when the species comprising the community are functionally neither too close, nor too distant. Taken together, our results demonstrate the potential to design and engineer synthetic communities capable of novel metabolic activities and point to promising future directions in environmental and clinical bioengineering.

Ecology of lactobacilli in the oral cavity: a review of literature

Lactobacilli appear in the oral cavity during the first years of a child's life. Their presence depends on numerous factors such as the presence of ecological niches e.g. natural anfractuosities of the teeth.A strong correlation has been established between the saliva Lactobacillus count and dental caries, the higher the DMF index, the higher the number of children harbouring a high Lactobacillus count.Among children, the presence of lactobacilli in coronal caries is incontestable. Among adults, lactobacilli are found in root caries. Since 1999, taxonomical revisions make it difficult to interpret the results obtained in the numerous previous studies carried out on the identification of oral lactobacilli, but whatever the sampling method or the identification technique, the carious site or the age of sampled subjects, most species belong to the Lactobacillus casei group.This is important because if a specific correlation can be found between few species of lactobacilli and caries a better understanding of their properties could allow the development of new tools for prevention.

Pathways for amino acid metabolism by Prevotella intermedia and Prevotella nigrescens

Pathways for amino acid metabolism by Prevotella intermedia and Prevotella nigrescens were investigated. Prevotella strains grew anaerobically in tryptone-based medium and their growth increased upon the addition of aspartate to the medium. Washed cells of tryptone-grown strains metabolized aspartate to succinate, acetate, fumarate, malate, formate and ammonia, while from tryptone they produced isobutyrate and isovalerate in addition to the end products from aspartate. Cell extracts obtained from the tryptone-grown cells had aspartate ammonia-lyase for the conversion of aspartate to fumarate. Methylviologen-dependent fumarate reductase was found to reduce fumarate to succinate. A series of enzymatic activities, including fumarase, NAD-dependent malate dehydrogenase, oxaloacetate decarboxylase, methylviologen-dependent pyruvate oxidoreductase, phosphotransacetylase and acetate kinase, was detected for the oxidative conversion of fumarate to acetate. Pyruvate formate-lyase and NAD-dependent formate dehydrogenase were also found for the production and consumption of formate, respectively. Methylviologen: NAD(P) oxidoreductase was found to be responsible for linkage between these reductive and oxidative pathways. Furthermore, the cell extracts had branched-chain amino acid aminotransferase and methylviologen-dependent branched-chain 2-oxoacid oxidoreductase, concomitantly with NAD-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase. Valine and leucine could be converted to isobutyryl CoA and isovaleryl CoA, respectively, through the sequential catalyses of these enzymes, and consequently to isobutyrate and isovalerate, respectively.

Acetate utilization in Lactococcus lactis deficient in lactate dehydrogenase: a rescue pathway for maintaining redox balance

Acetate was shown to improve glucose fermentation in Lactococcus lactis deficient in lactate dehydrogenase. 13C and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance studies using [2-13C]glucose and [2-(13)C]acetate as substrates demonstrated that acetate was exclusively converted to ethanol. This novel pathway provides an alternative route for NAD+ regeneration in the absence of lactate dehydrogenase.