Mycoplasmas are simple, but successful parasites that have the smallest genome of any free-living cell and are thought to have a highly streamlined cellular metabolism. Here, we have undertaken a detailed metabolomic analysis of two species, and , which cause economically important diseases in cattle and poultry, respectively. Untargeted gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses of mycoplasma metabolite extracts revealed significant differences in the steady-state levels of many metabolites in central carbon metabolism, while C stable isotope labeling studies revealed marked differences in carbon source utilization. These data were mapped onto metabolic networks predicted from genome wide annotations. The analyses elucidated distinct differences, including a clear difference in glucose utilization, with a marked decrease in glucose uptake and glycolysis in compared to , which may reflect differing host nutrient availabilities. The C-labeling patterns also revealed several functional metabolic pathways that were previously unannotated in these species, allowing us to assign putative enzyme functions to the products of a number of genes of unknown function, especially in . This study demonstrates the considerable potential of metabolomic analyses to assist in characterizing significant differences in the metabolism of different bacterial species and in improving genome annotation. Mycoplasmas are pathogenic bacteria that cause serious chronic infections in production animals, resulting in considerable losses worldwide, as well as causing disease in humans. These bacteria have extremely reduced genomes and are thought to have limited metabolic flexibility, even though they are highly successful persistent parasites in a diverse number of species. The extent to which different species are capable of catabolizing host carbon sources and nutrients, or synthesizing essential metabolites, remains poorly defined. We have used advanced metabolomic techniques to identify metabolic pathways that are active in two species of that infect distinct hosts (poultry and cattle). We show that these species exhibit marked differences in metabolite steady-state levels and carbon source utilization. This information has been used to functionally characterize previously unknown genes in the genomes of these pathogens. These species-specific differences are likely to reflect important differences in host nutrient levels and pathogenic mechanisms.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5634790PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/mSystems.00055-17DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

metabolic pathways
12
differences
8
chromatography-mass spectrometry
8
steady-state levels
8
marked differences
8
carbon source
8
source utilization
8
host nutrient
8
species
7
metabolic
5

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!