Linking carbon metabolism to carotenoid production in mycobacteria using Raman spectroscopy

Kumar, Srividya and Matange, Nishad and Umapathy, Siva and Visweswariah, Sandhya S (2015) Linking carbon metabolism to carotenoid production in mycobacteria using Raman spectroscopy. In: FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS, 362 (3).

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Abstract

Bacteria can utilize multiple sources of carbon for growth, and for pathogenic bacteria like Mycobacterium tuberculosis, this ability is crucial for survival within the host. In addition, phenotypic changes are seen in mycobacteria grown under different carbon sources. In this study, we use Raman spectroscopy to analyze the biochemical components present in M. smegmatis cells when grown in three differently metabolized carbon sources. Our results show that carotenoid biosynthesis is enhanced when M. smegmatis is grown in glucose compared to glycerol and acetate. We demonstrate that this difference is most likely due to transcriptional upregulation of the carotenoid biosynthesis operon (crt) mediated by higher levels of the stress-responsive sigma factor SigF. Moreover, we find that increased SigF and carotenoid levels correlate with greater resistance of glucose-grown cells to oxidative stress. Thus, we demonstrate the use of Raman spectroscopy in unraveling unknown aspects of mycobacterial physiology and describe a novel effect of carbon source variation on mycobacteria.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS
Publisher:	OXFORD UNIV PRESS
Additional Information:	Copy right for this article belongs to the OXFORD UNIV PRESS, GREAT CLARENDON ST, OXFORD OX2 6DP, ENGLAND
Keywords:	mycobacteria; carotenoids; Raman spectroscopy; SigF
Department/Centre:	Division of Biological Sciences > Molecular Reproduction, Development & Genetics Division of Chemical Sciences > Inorganic & Physical Chemistry Division of Physical & Mathematical Sciences > Instrumentation Appiled Physics
Date Deposited:	31 Jul 2015 13:41
Last Modified:	28 Nov 2018 15:13
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/51964

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